The LA Chargers have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. After suffering horrible injury luck all season long, the Bolts are starting to get healthy and are peaking at the perfect time as a result.
It was not a guarantee a month ago that the Bolts would make the playoffs and now they are the team that no other team is going to want to play. It has been an incredible turnaround to watch and fans are now just hoping that the team can convert that into a deep Super Bowl run.
Los Angeles certainly has the talent to make a Super Bowl run with several superstars on the roster. Those are obviously the most important players that give LA a chance to begin with. However, there are several other very important players that may not be superstars but will make a big difference in how far this team goes.
3 Chargers who are sneakily very important to a Super Bowl run:
1. Zion Johnson
We all know how important Corey Linsley and Trey Pipkins are to this offensive line right now (and Rashawn Slater if he potentially returns for the playoffs) but the true make-or-break member has to be rookie right guard Zion Johnson.
Johnson has had a solid rookie season all things considered for the Chargers. Yes, there have been moments in which Johnson looks every part of a rookie out there but that is part of the process. Expecting a rookie offensive lineman to be perfect in year one is absurd. Very few can do that with Slater hurting fans' expectations.
The foundation of Johnson is really solid and his impact in the run game is felt when he is having a good game. While Justin Herbert is a humanoid freak at quarterback, the run game truly is the engine of this offense and it is at its best when it runs behind Johnson and Pipkins on the right side.
2. Morgan Fox
Chargers fans who follow the team very closely know just how impactful Morgan Fox has been this season but he still does not get the overall credit that he deserves. With big names such as Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Sebastian Joseph-Day on the defensive line it is not hard to see why Fox gets overlooked.
That being said, Fox has undoubtedly been the best interior pass-rusher that the Chargers have had all season long. It has not always been great, but when Fox is playing his best the Chargers pass rush is night and day. He has been one of the key members of this defensive renaissance since the bye week.
And this has all come after Fox was signed to be a rotational pass rusher for the Bolts. When he was signed, it essentially looked like Jerry Tillery insurance as he had a very similar player profile to Tillery. Once Tillery got the boot and Fox started getting more playing time we saw a big difference on the defensive front.
One of the keys to winning in the playoffs that translates from team to team is getting pressure on the quarterback. Brandon Staley has been great with his designed blitz packages but if you are going to go really far in the playoffs you have to be able to get pressure rushing just four.
Bosa and Mack are going to be a handful for any team and will certainly get home frequently on the quarterback. But if the team is going to take that next step, it is going to take Fox leading the charge from the interior.
3. Kenneth Murray
I know there are a lot of people rolling their eyes at this inclusion and are wondering about other players on the Chargers. Why isn't someone like Drue Tranquill or Michael Davis in this spot instead? Well, we all know how impactful those players are especially considering they are playing at a really high level.
Like it or not, Kenneth Murray can make a big difference for this Chargers team in the playoffs. That might not make fans feel great as Murray has not turned in consistent good play but it does not change the fact that he is important to this team.
The Chargers' run defense still tends to leak and we saw that in Week 17 against the LA Rams. However, we have also seen games in which the run defense turned it around and Murray was a big part of that. From the Miami to the Indianapolis game, Murray was playing some of the best football of his career in both phases.
However, we saw him crash back down to earth against the Rams with several bad reps that stuck out like a sore thumb. Regardless of how many bad reps there are Murray is still going to get his usual playing time, making him a big x-factor for this defense.
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If Murray can play like he did from Week 14-16 then this defense is not really going to have a hole that teams can fully exploit. If he plays like he did against the Rams it could make all the difference in a key playoff drive, which can eliminate the Chargers entirely.