Coming off a pair of three-point victories, the first a 22-19 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the second a 16-13 win over the rival Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers looked as if they were in for another close contest this past Sunday with the Dallas Cowboys, as the two teams traded scores on the first six drives of the game, with the Bolts ultimately taking a 21-17 lead into halftime.
But that was all the scoring America's Team could muster, as the Chargers' defense pitched a shutout in the second half, holding the Cowboys' high-octane offense, which led the league in total yards per game coming into this matchup, to just 119 yards over the final 30 minutes.
The Chargers' offense, meanwhile, continued to produce, putting up points on three of its five second-half drives. And that fifth drive doesn't really count, as it included the final kneeldowns in the 34-17 victory.
In the four games prior to Sunday's date in Dallas, the Los Angeles offense had surpassed the 300-yard mark just once, that being a 341-yard outing in a 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13.
Against the Cowboys, however, the Bolts tallied a season-high 452 total yards, with 300 of those coming from the right arm of Justin Herbert, who posted his highest passer rating of the season (132.8) after completing a season-best 79.3 percent of his passes with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bolts also gained 152 yards on the ground, with Omarion Hampton leading the way with 85 yards on just 16 carries and Herbert chipping in with 42 yards and a score on only eight attempts.
Naturally, given the issues the offense has had in recent weeks, Chargers fans were thrilled to see such a dazzling performance. And the win was obviously a huge help in keeping Los Angeles alive in the AFC West race, which got a lot tighter on Sunday afternoon when the division-leading Denver Broncos were upended by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But just as it was in the Bolts' win over the Raiders a few weeks back, this offensive outburst against the Cowboys undoubtedly needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as the Dallas defense ranks dead last in total yards allowed per game (380.1), dead last in passing yards allowed per game (257.8), and 20th in rushing yards allowed per game (122.3).
Don't get things twisted here. It was great to see the Bolts moving the ball at will. And one of the signs of a good offense is torching the defenses you're supposed to torch, which Herbert & Co. obviously did.
But Bolts fans simply need to temper expectations moving forward.
In Week 17, the Chargers are set to face a Houston Texans defense that has only surrendered 300 total yards to opposing offenses five times in 15 games. And from an overall standpoint, they've allowed the fewest yards per game in the entire NFL (272.3).
In Week 18, of course, the Bolts take on the Broncos, who were exposed a bit by the Jaguars but have still surrendered the fourth-fewest yards per game (291.6).
It's not that the Chargers can't post big numbers against good defenses, but recent history says it can be a bit of a struggle. But such is the beauty of Los Angeles having a great defense of its own, as the offense doesn't have to put up 450 yards and 30 points per game to get wins. Just ask the Cowboys how that's worked out this season.