Justin Herbert's INT woes, 4 other things to know about Commanders vs. Chargers

After battling three straight divisional foes to open the season, Jim Harbaugh’s club now faces its second straight NFC East opponent and hopes to fare better than it did last Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Both the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders come off road losses in Week 4. The Bolts fell to the Giants, 21-18, while Dan Quinn’s club came up short at Atlanta, 34-27.

In 2024, Harbaugh and Quinn were in the first seasons as head coaches with these teams. They took over clubs that finished dead last in the AFC West and NFC East, respectively, in 2023. Both wound up making the playoffs as wild card entries, and Washington would eventually reach the NFC Championship Game.

Now the Chargers and Commanders both look to avoid a second consecutive loss on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

History

When these two franchisees first met back in 1973, the then-Washington Redskins defeated the then-San Diego Chargers, 38-0, at legendary RFK Stadium. Fast forward to today and while the recently-dubbed Commanders own a 7-5 lead in the series standings, it’s the Chargers that have won five of the past six meetings dating back to 2001. The clubs’ last encounter came on the first Sunday of the 2021 season. Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert and company rallied for a thrilling 20-16 victory at Landover.

What’s in a Number(s)?

Commanders: It’s pretty simple. The Commanders are 2-0 at home this season with wins over the Giants and Raiders by a combined 62-30 score. Dan Quinn’s club is also 0-2 on the road with losses to the Packers and Falcons by a 61-45 count. Washington has allowed seven TDs in their two road setbacks.

Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton — Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Chargers: Justin Herbert had a solid year in 2024, throwing 23 TD passes and only three interceptions. Of course, he was picked up four times in the ugly playoff loss to the Texans. This season, Herbert has been picked off three times in the club’s last two outings after not throwing an interception the first two weeks.

Keep an Eye On…

Commanders: The consistency is certainly amazing. Veteran defender Bobby Wagner leads the Commanders with 42 tackles, and is second on the team with two sacks. The 14-year pro has finished with at least 10 stops in each of his four outings. He is currently Pro Football Focus’ third-ranked linebacker.

Chargers: While almost half (128) of his team-high 270 yards rushing came in last week’s loss to the Giants, rookie Omarion Hampton might be in line for a big workload vs. the Commanders’ 14th-ranked run defense. He had a career-best 19 carries in Week 3 vs. the Broncos, but look for him to surpass that.

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