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Chargers defensive tackle Poona Ford celebrates after his interception against the Raiders that sealed the Week 1 victory. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
It was the Chargers’ first major opportunity to reintroduce themselves. On fourth and one in the season opener, however, it wasn’t Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack who made the play that sent the defense’s first warning shot of the Jim Harbaugh era.
It was Poona Ford and Otito Ogbonnia who came crashing into the backfield.
The pair of 300-pound tackles who combined to stop the Las Vegas Raiders on the Chargers’ second defensive series of the season have turned the team’s line from a question mark to a strength while setting the tone for the stingiest scoring defense in the NFL, giving up just 6.5 points per game.
The Chargers’ established edge rushers are the stars of the defensive front, and the interior linemen are ready to make names for themselves as well.
Morgan Fox is the vocal leader among the Chargers’ defensive tackles. (Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
“People aren’t talking about us, people might think we’re not this, but we know who we are as players,” defensive lineman Morgan Fox said. “Nothing matters to us besides the people in our room, and at the end of the day, we just want to prove ourselves right.”
The Chargers (2-0) also have given up only one red zone drive, the fewest in the NFL. They smothered the Raiders in their divisional rival’s first game under a new offensive coordinator and dominated the struggling Carolina Panthers, who benched second-year quarterback Bryce Young one day later.
The Chargers have a new challenge, however, in the Pittsburgh Steelers. The matchup Sunday of unbeaten teams is an official “playoff opener,” Harbaugh said, as it will be their first game against a team that went to the playoffs last season.
The Steelers are 2-0 on the road to begin a season for the first time since 1999, and Justin Fields, who has been starting at quarterback for injured…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/interior-linemen-tackle-chargers-biggest-100100907.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-09-19 10:01:00
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