The Los Angeles Chargers are set to take on the San Francisco 49ers tonight as the second week of the preseason begins, which should give many players another opportunity to prove what they can do.
So, heading into tonight's game, here are three key things to watch as the Chargers battle the 49ers.
Heading into tonight, there is no question that one of the biggest things to watch will be the interior of the Chargers' offensive line and how each player performs. As many know, earlier this week, starting center Tyler Biadasz was carted off the field during the joint practice with the 49ers due to a left knee injury, which will most likely make rookie center Jake Slaughter the starting center.
With that, it will be interesting to see how head coach Jim Harbaugh decides to manage the rotation on the interior of the offensive line to ensure they can develop chemistry together. At this point, Cole Strange seems to be in control of the right guard spot, but there is still competition at left guard with Kayode Awosika and Branson Taylor, and, prior to the Biadasz injury, Slaughter was involved in that competition as well.
So, in terms of who will play, Harbaugh did announce that the starters will get one series and the backups will get the rest. So Slaughter, Awosika, and Strange should start the game, but after that, it will be interesting to watch how the snaps are divided and whether there is a clear answer at the left guard position.
Regardless of how the snaps are divided up, the performance of the offensive line, especially the interior of the offensive line, will be something to watch and monitor as the regular season approaches.
The next thing to look out for will be the performance of rookie safety Genesis Smith and if he can continue to make plays in the secondary.
Last week, Smith made his NFL debut against the Houston Texans in Week 1 of the preseason and looked pretty solid throughout the game as he tallied two tackles and one pass breakup. Additionally, defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary has talked about the fact that he likes what he sees from Smith and believes that Smith will continue to progress.
Based on O'Leary's thoughts and the reps that Smith got last week, in addition to the ones he got against the 49ers in their joint practice on Tuesday, Smith should be able to have a solid performance tonight and maybe even make a few significant plays. If Smith does make a few major plays tonight, he could put himself in a position to be a special teams contributor in the regular season and could even carve out a role on defense.
So, keep and eye out for Smith and his performance tonight, because if he plays well, the Chargers could find a key role for him during the 2026 season.
The final thing to watch out for is how the starters look in the first series of the game because, as previously mentioned, Harbaugh did say the starters will play the first series, and then the backups will get the rest.
It is important to note that offensive tackle Rashawn Slater will not play, as he is still recovering from injury, and starting center Biadasz will not play after getting hurt earlier this week, but the rest of the starters should be ready to go.
When watching the starters tonight, one of the biggest things to look at will be how comfortable quarterback Justin Herbert looks in Mike McDaniel's offense in terms of running it in and out of the huddle, but also which receiver he looks to first when he needs to get the ball out. Additionally, the run game will be something to watch as well, specifically how Omarion Hampton looks as he prepares for his second season in the NFL.
On the defensive side, it will be interesting to watch the defensive line and, in particular, how Dalvin Tomlinson looks on the interior as one of the bigger additions for the Chargers up front. Also, it may be worth taking a look at how players like Daiyan Henley and Derwin James Jr. are able to communicate with each other and the defense as a whole as they run O'Leary's defense for the first time in a game setting.
The fact that the Chargers starters will each play one series should help this team get ready to go for Week 1, so it will be very interesting to watch how the offense and defense perform and if there are any questions that arise from the limited snaps.
