Thankfully, preseason records don't matter— it's the internal development that ultimately counts. The Los Angeles Chargers saw plenty of that on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
Sure, the third-string offensive line allowed a pair of sacks on DJ Uiagalelei to end the game when they were within striking distance of the end zone. But Justin Herbert threw an absolute bomb of a touchdown to Quentin Johnston, and the offense as a whole looked more cohesive and effective than it has at any point this preseason.
We also saw a number of the battles across the roster heat up in this final preseason matchup—including the fight between Marlowe Wax and Junior Colson for the final ILB spot. At the very least, things got interesting for Los Angeles just days before the 53-man roster deadline.
As roster cuts approach, here are 10 immediate reactions from the Chargers' 18-20 loss to the Rams at So-Fi.
Immediate takeways from the Chargers' final preseason matchup
1. Derius Davis seems set to make the roster
I noted this after last game, but Davis taking the first reps as kick returner for the Chargers seems to me like an indication that he's secured his roster spot.
There was a chance, coming into camp, that a new piece like Brenen Thompson or Keaton Mitchell could challenge Davis for the spot with their speed and athleticism. Davis was limited by injuries in 2025, and you don't have much cushion in the NFL when your primary value is on special teams.
But the Chargers have remained consistent in granting Davis first-team reps as the return man, and it feels like he'll almost certainly be one of the team's five or six receivers when it's all said and done.
2. Dalvin Tomlinson getting some motion in the middle of the D-line
Of all the offseason additions, we've probably seen the least from nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson during training camp and the preseason. He played just six snaps with the rest of the starters against the San Francisco 49ers, and he didn't make a ton of noise with his practice reps.
Against the Rams, though we got another small smattering of snaps from the 10th-year defender, and he was impressive. He consistently forced motion against the Rams D-line, even peeling off a double team to get an excellent run stop on the Chargers' defense first drive of the game.
Even if his snap share is somewhat limited compared to starting defensive tackles Jamaree Caldwell and Teair Tart, Tomlinson will be a major factor in Los Angeles' ability to stifle the run this season.
3. Quentin Johnston's drive phase is indeed going to make its mark this season
The highlight of the game was, obviously, the 65-yard bomb from Herbert and Quentin Johnston for an explosive touchdown. Not only was it an immaculate throw from the starting quarterback, but Johnston blew by both of the Rams defenders on his side of the field with a beautifully crafted route up the seam.
Mike McDaniel said earlier in camp that Quentin Johnston's drive phase—his speed and athleticism off the line of scrimmage—was going to make its mark this season. We got a glimpse of how he'll use that on Thursday night.
4. Junior Colson and Marlowe Wax both playing at the top of their games with roster cuts looming
Of the Chargers' remaining roster battles, the fight between Colson and Wax for the final ILB spot may very well be the most intriguing. Daiyan Henley and Denzel Perryman are locked in as the starters, and both Troy Dye and Del'Shawn Phillips are likely locked into their roles as the third linebacker and special-teams contributor, respectively.
But both Wax and Colson deserve to make the roster at this point. They each put up six tackles against the Rams, and even taking into account Colson's pick-six against San Francisco, this was the most impressive performance from both players we've had this preseason.
Wax, as usual, flashed his intensity in triggering downhill against the run and finishing his tackles. But we saw Colson unlock a level of versatility that we largely haven't seen from him to this point in his injury-shortened career. He was consistent in getting down towards the line of scrimmage and disrupting short passing plays for the Rams, and it's clear he still has significant upside to be unlocked as a versatile linebacker.
We'll see who ultimately makes the roster, but it's going to be disappointing no matter who gets cut.
5. Obligatory Ty Simpson note— the Rams might've made the right choice
This isn't a takeaway on the Chargers' side of things, but I couldn't get through an analysis of this game without mentioning Simpson in some shape or form.
He looked confident and under control all night during his dropbacks, completing 18 of his 23 passes for 119 yards and one highly impressive touchdown, rolling out to the left side against immense pressure from the Chargers and firing a dart to the end zone to complete the play.
Simpson won't get his chance this season, but he did quite a bit to incite optimism across the league on Thursday night.
6. The Chargers' run game finally acquitted itself (and so did Kimani Vidal)
After the disastrous matchup against the 49ers, the Chargers offense had one job last night— show some flashes of what McDaniel's run game can ultimately be.
Outside of Trey Lance's scrambles against San Francisco, Los Angeles averaged just 1.6 yards per carry. They averaged 7.9 against the Rams, buoyed by a 118-yard performance from UDFA running back Gregory Desrosiers (which we'll come back to later).
Kimani Vidal only had nine yards on three carries, but he looked much more comfortable and explosive within McDaniel's run scheme than he has over the past two games— even pulling out a nice move on a run to the left side to create extra space in the second level.
The Chargers offense needed a night like this to end the preseason, and they got it.
7. It's a shame we (hopefully) won't see any more Travis Burke snaps this year
This seems like a contradiction, and that's because it is one. Hopefully, even if Joe Alt or Rashawn Slater has to miss time this season, we won't need to go past Trey Pipkins III on the depth chart. If Travis Burke is able to spend his rookie season simply developing on the bench, that's the ideal outcome.
But Burke has been one of the biggest risers of the preseason. He looked highly impressive during his snaps on Thursday, working his way into the second level to help out in the run game and consistently holding his own in pass protection on the left side. He's just a player that's fun to watch at offensive tackle— but hopefully we won't need to see him on the field anytime soon.
8. Chargers defense has been the real focal point of the past month— and that wasn't any different against the Rams
Almost every day of camp we've heard how well the defense has performed under new coordinator Chris O'Leary. They didn't quite put that on display against San Francisco, but we saw that momentum in full force against the Rams.
It started with a three-and-out for the Rams offense on the first drive of the game, but the impressive performances didn't stop there. We got standout showings from Avery Smith, Rodney Shelley, Tony Jefferson, Wax, Colson, TeRah Edwards, and even an exciting run stop from Daiyan Henley.
There's reason to have some anxiety about Jesse Minter's departure. But O'Leary has done everything possible over the past month to erase that.
9. DJ Uiagalelei isn't ready, but there might be something brewing there
Would I trust DJ Uiagalelei to step into an NFL game right now and have any chance of leading the Chargers to victory? Almost certainly not.
But we now have the third straight game where he's outplayed Trey Lance by at least a slim margin. Granted, Lance only attempted two passes on the night— something we can likely take as an indication that he's locked up the QB2 job for this season. But Uiagalelei completed 11 of his 18 passes for 141 yards, even with the offensive line playing like it did towards the end of the game.
He's still too shaky and inconsistent to trust with the backup quarterback job. But if the Chargers want to roll with Lance through this season, there's a real chance we see a stronger competition for the job at this time next year.
10. Chargers have a real decision to make on the backend of their RB room
I promised we'd come back to Desrosiers' monster performance.
The Chargers have now gotten some major moments out of two of their three practice-squad candidates at running back. Amar Johnson was the star of Los Angeles' matchup against the Houston Texans— in which he posted two receptions for 68 yards and tacked on two rushing touchdowns.
But Desrosiers got his chance to shine last night, and he certainly made the most of it. He seemed perfectly poised in McDaniel's outside-zone run scheme, and he had a measure of elusiveness in the open field that helped him turn out a couple of truly explosive plays.
The Chargers will need decide between Johnson, Desrosiers, and Jaret Patterson as their practice squad RBs, and it's likely that only two (at most) will make the cut. With Desrosiers' performance on Thursday, that decision has suddenly become much more interesting.
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