3 Chargers who were surprisingly impressive in Week 9 win over Falcons
By Jason Reed
3. Joshua Palmer
With the receiving corps incredibly banged-up heading into this game, the Chargers tasked second-year wide receiver Joshua Palmer with being the WR1 against the Atlanta Falcons. There were some signs that Palmer would have a strong game considering Atlanta's bad defense was missing its top corner but it was still a surprisingly great game for the former third-round pick.
Palmer was exactly what the team needed him to be as he finished with eight catches for 106 yards. He had some of the biggest catches of the game on key downs, including the long completion from Justin Herbert after the fumble fiasco to put the Chargers back in field goal range.
Some would argue that this is not surprising since we were all so high on Palmer before the season but it was rough for the second-year receiver at times. Palmer and Justin Herbert have often not been on the same page and quite frankly, Palmer was disappointing for most of the early part of the season.
Palmer had the biggest gaffe of the entire game when he let a Justin Herbert pass bounce right off his hands and facemask into the air for an interception. While that was an ugly moment, fans should feel confident in how Palmer responded to that moment.
MUST-READ: Promising rookies the Chargers could have drafted in 2022
Most young receivers would likely shell up and not be able to respond to that kind of play. Not Palmer. He stepped up and turned in some key catches after that moment and did not let that mistake define the rest of his game.