Chargers football is back.

The bye has come and gone and the hope is that the team was able to flush everything negative over their extended break. It’s tough to feel uber-confident this week based on how the Jaguars game went, but if they can’t take care of business this week, then there’s no point in believing their at a place to make a push in the playoffs.

Los Angeles will also be wearing their navy uniforms again after winning their first game with the new alternates. After going 0-6 in the old navy kits, being able to start 2-0 in these would be a refreshing change, as well.

With that said, let’s go ahead and jump into this week’s game preview and the three things I’ll be watching closely when these teams take the field on Sunday.

1.) How will the Chargers have gone about recalibrating their offensive line?

The Chargers entered their bye week after watching their offensive line get obliterated by the Jaguars pass rush that featured Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen. Newly-acquired offensive lineman Trevor Penning was rough in his Chargers debut and it seemingly has forced the Chargers take him out of the starting lineup after just one game.

Per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, it is Jamaree Salyer who is getting the shot at starting on the blindside this week based on observations from practice. Also of note is that, even when healthy, it looks like Trey Pipkins has won back the starting right tackle job from Bobby Hart.

The unfortunate part is, no matter what they do at the tackle spot in place of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, the interior of Johnson, Bozeman, and Becton has been so poor for the majority of the season that it almost is irrelevant who they throw out there.

Salyer has played well in spot duty and you just hope his lack of elite athleticism won’t hurt him against the monster that is Maxx Crosby and his 19 total tackles for loss this year.

2.) How much play will Omarion Hampton see in his return from IR?

While filling in for Hampton, Kimani Vidal recorded three games of over 100 yards offense while scoring three total touchdowns. However, in the other three games, Vidal totaled 63 yards combined with zero scores. Hampton’s ability to make something out of nothing has sorely been missed, but it remains to be seen just how fast they’ll throw Hampton back into the lion’s share of the carries.

With this week, I don’t think it’d be all that surprising to see Vidal still get a good chunk of snaps against the 2-9 Raiders. With or without Hampton returning, this is a must-win game that most certainly SHOULD be a victory, so I can see the coaching staff making the call to ease Hampton in more than the fans would probably like.

For comparison’s sake, Vidal has recorded 417 yards and two rushing touchdowns with an average of 4.3 yards per carry. Before being injured, Hampton was up to 314 yards and two scores while averaging 4.8 yards per tote. As a receiver, Hampton was also more active with 20 catches for 136 yards (6.8 yards per reception) while Vidal has 52 yards on 12 catches (4.3), albeit with a touchdown through the air.

3.) Can the Chargers actually get off the bus this week?

This one isn’t going to be very analytical or full of cold-hard numbers, but it remains important nonetheless.

The Chargers had every reason to be as motivated as possible when they traveled to Jacksonville in Week 11. They had plenty to fight for and plenty to avenge. Instead, it was the least-inspired game I’ve ever seen from the Bolts under Jim Harbaugh.

It was so out of character that there was just no way that it could boil down to offensive line issues or the fact that the Chargers traveled from the coast to coast. I understand there’s something to say about the time change, but it’s not supposed to amount to a complete soul-sucking.

There aren’t many games where you almost feel as if you didn’t watch a game in the first place. The Charger barely held the ball in the second half and by the final whistle, you honestly couldn’t recall a single play that happened in the previous 60 minutes of game time. It was surreal. It was out-of-this-world wacky. It was NOT what Jim Harbaugh has been selling since taking over in 2024.

The Chargers have the opportunity to make everyone forget about their drumming by the Jaguars with an all-out tail-whooping of the Raiders. A win is assumed. That’s the lowest bar. Los Angeles, however, needs to come out and inflict every ounce of their will on the Raiders or else questions will continue to linger about their true makeup going into the final stretch of the season.