Los Angeles Chargers Seek Answers In Their Season-Opener In Brazil

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert throws the ball during a practice prior to Friday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

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All NFL teams have questions and the Los Angeles Chargers are certainly included.

But they hope to get some answers starting Friday night, in Brazil of all places, when opening the season against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chargers are upbeat coming off a 10-7 campaign during a playoff season in coach Jim Harbaugh’s first year. Although their training camp wasn’t without issues, with star left tackle Rayshawn Slater (knee) being lost for the year and fresh right guard Mekhi Becton (knee) not practicing.

But all that goes by the wayside at kickoff, and hopefully the Chargers get their feet under them on the field’s questionable turf and in the thin air of Sao Paulo.

The Chargers are fortunate, in some regard, that they get to gauge their progress against Kansas City, the defending AFC champion who has had a long stranglehold on the AFC West.

Here are five mysteries the Chargers possess as they lift the curtain on a regular season full of promise and pitfalls.

Is this the year standout quarterback Justin Herbert finds the winner’s circle in a playoff game?

There’s no discounting Herbert’s talent and the stack of passing records he has compiled in his first five years under three head coaches.

But at some point, if seeking to enter the upper-echelon of quarterbacks, he has to shine when it’s needed the most. That’s not to say his lack of postseason success, and even getting there, lands on his broad shoulders.

Some suggest that the Chargers should be charged with organizational malpractice for saddling Herbert with two rookie head coaches in Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley and rosters that were constructed, but hardly playoff worthy.

Unfortunately all of that means squat.

The postseason memories many have of Herbert of him being in charge of a team which blew a 27-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars and another that looked askew in last season’s unsightly defeat to the Houston Texans.

What’s my line is a great response when Chargers fans look at their offensive front. If the Chargers don’t get this right, again, then reaching the playoffs, and potentially making a significant run, is doubtful.

The loss of Slater was the Chargers’ biggest summer bummer. L.A. already had issues protecting Herbert and now his blindside guardian is watching the season in street clothes.

Joe Alt, who had a sensational rookie year at right left tackle, has switched sides to replace Slater. Alt spent most of his Notre Dame career at left tackle, so the Chargers’ fingers are crossed that he’ll make a seamless transition.

Of course patching up one hole creates another as L.A. will rely on Trey Pipkins III to supplant Alt and we’ll see how that goes.

The interior line is also a work-in-progress after the Chargers spent the offseason trying to address it.

They awarded Mekhi Becton a two-year, $20 million deal in hopes his play and pedigree of being on last season’s Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles pays off. But his training camp and run-up to the season were derailed when a chronic knee injury barked.

They have practices for a reason and with Becton not participating, it’s not clear what kind of game shape he’ll be in or his level of play.

Bradley Bozeman returns to center after L.A.’s experiment of introducing the position to Zion Johnson fell flat. Johnson, a former first-round pick, has been a disappointment.

How the Chargers expect both Bozeman and Johnson, the left guard, to be better this year isn’t really clear.

An offense directed by coordinator Greg Roman and under the umbrella of Harbaugh has to have a solid running game, right? But they were left scratching their heads last year as the new-and-improved backfield of J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards was vastly underwhelming.

So they cleaned house and have a fresh tandem in first round pick Omarion Hampton from North Carolina and free-agent Najee Harris.

Hampton has looked solid in camp and he comes with a high endorsement from ex-Charger Natrone Means, who has kept close tabs on the former Tar Heels ball-carrier.

Harris, coming off four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, arrives via a one-year, $5.25 million deal.

But Harris sustained an eye injury during a Fourth of July mishap which limited his sessions in training camp. Harbaugh, who’s seldom forthright with the media regarding injuries, swears that Harris is fine and could play in the opener.

But it remains to be seen what they have in Harris, although his past is enough for the Chargers to get excited about the present and the future.

The Chargers are confident in Herbert, but how about the gentlemen on the business end of his passes?

L.A. found a gem in Ladd McConkey as he quickly established himself as an elite receiver after an outstanding rookie year. But after that, well…

Quentin Johnston, another first-round pick, led the Chargers with seven scoring catches last year but he remains inconsistent.

The Chargers have high hopes for Tre Harris, a second-round pick and the former Mississippi star that has been up-and-down in camp, just like most other rookies. He’s loaded with potential and he was a standout in the SEC.

Keenan Allen is back and how much he has left will be discovered. Allen holds virtually all of the team’s franchise receiving records and his presence in the locker room is nothing but a plus.

But injuries have dogged him during the later stages of his career, with the Chargers banking on his being a complementary piece rather than doing the heavy lifting.

Longtime Chargers observers know the player with the best stiff-arm in team history belonged to the incomparable LaDainian Tomlinson. But Khalil Mack is coming in a close second.

Mack continues to push back from Father Time bringing him down as Mack, despite entering his 12th season, continues to be highly productive.

But this will be his first Chargers season in which blocking schemes don’t have to account for Joey Bosa. Although Bosa was injured so much, maybe that won’t be much of an adjustment for Mack

With Bosa gone, the spotlight turns to Tui Tuipulotu and by all accounts, he’s ready to make his star turn. His game continues to ascend and he’s more than capable of making up for the part-time player that Bosa had become and Bud Dupree is also still around to lend a hand.