CRITICAL: Chargers MUST Dominate Jaguars Rushing Attack to Secure Win With Huge Playoff Stakes

CRITICAL: Chargers MUST Dominate Jaguars Rushing Attack to Secure Win With Huge Playoff Stakes

The Chargers can basically lock up their playoff spot with the win this weekend and they need their defensive front to manhandle the Jaguars to get the job done. You are Locked On Chargers, your daily podcast on the Los Angeles Chargers, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What is up and welcome into the Locked On Chargers podcast. I’m your host, Daniel Wade, joined as always by my co-host, David Drogmire, and we’ve been covering the Chargers now for 10 seasons, but this is our eighth year as a host of the Lockdown Chargers podcast, bringing you your team every day as part of the number one sports podcast network. But thank you to all the Everydayers for making us your first listen. To make sure that you never miss the show, go subscribe or follow for free on the Lockdown Chargers YouTube channel and listen wherever you get your podcast from. David, what do we got today? Daniel, for the Jaguars to have success offensively, they have to run the ball. And so that means the Chargers have to sell out to take that away and force Trevor Lawrence to have to use that arm to beat them. And Justin Herbert has a fantastic matchup against this pass defense. And it looks like he could absolutely shred them. And will we see Trevor Penning start at left tackle? We will get into all of that plus our bold iname predictions. And today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. David, this is a huge game. Another team in the AFC that’s probably going to be fighting for a wild card spot. And the Chargers basically have a chance to put them out of their misery or at least make sure they will not be able to catch up to them with a win over them this weekend. And when you were watching the games, I mean, something that really stood out to both of us, but the one thing you kept coming back to me with is they have to stop the run. If the Chargers front can handle it, and obviously that’s been an issue at times. If the Chargers defensive front can be physical and handle what the Jaguars are trying to throw at them in the running game, the Chargers would be able to get the job done. Yes, they absolutely will. I think you look at the the Jaguars and how they’ve won all year. Starting in week one, they ran for 200 yards and they won that game. They ran for 150 yards against the 49ers and won that game. Over a 100red in a win against the Chiefs, over 150 against the Raiders in that’s four out of their five wins when they run over for over a 100red yards. That’s how they’ve got the majority of their victories. So, it is imperative that the Chargers make sure that they continue to stay stingy on the ground, stop the run, continue to control those edges, be physical, and match that energy because they’re going to want to run the ball. They’re going to want to assert themselves and mix things up. If you take that away, then you’re going to set up a quarterback that tends to make mistakes. And I think for the Chargers, especially when you’re going up against something you brought up yesterday, right, against Liam Comb who had it a team that Liam Comb that ran for 200 plus yards against this Chargers defense last year when he was with the Bucks. Obviously different personnel, but Travis Etienne is one of those guys, one of the holdovers from that bad playoff game against the Chargers. And he had the fourth and one that basically sealed the deal against you and they couldn’t handle him in that game. They have to handle him in this game. And I think it is really about him specifically because the ch the Jaguars last three losses at TN has been held to less than 60 yards and so far this season he’s averaging 50 yards per game in games that they lose and 91.4 yards per game in games that they win. Now you compare that against the Chargers who have allowed 88 yards or less in three straight matchups. It feels like this is where this game can be won, right? Yeah. Stop them in the running game and make Trevor Lawrence beat you. And I do think that if you can do that, if you can get them behind the sticks, if you can get them out of their game plan, that’s what gets someone like Liam Cohen, who is an offensive guru type of guy out of what you know they want to do, which is keep you off balance, stay in manageable situations, keep everything on the table from a run pass standpoint. If you can get them out of it, Trevor Lawrence is very hit or miss. He’s a very volatile player. And I think that that’s the other thing the Chargers have to do in this game is absolutely batter Trevor Lawrence who will hold on to the ball and take some sacks. But he has been just getting punished over the last few games. I mean they’ve allowed 20 sacks over the last four games. 19 of those in three losses. That means their last three losses they’re allowing Trevor Lawrence to get sacked over six times per game. That’s insane. And the Chargers have a pass rush that’s been really good as well. Oh, I mean, the Chargers have 12 sacks during this four three-game winning streak, which means they’re averaging four sacks per game all over the place. I mean, last week it was four separate linemen on the Jaguars who allowed four or more pressure. The Chargers will have their chances up front. They have to take advantage of it because Trevor Lawrence can get you. I think part of this is being able to collapse the pocket, not let him scramble either because he’s kind of a volatile scrambler and he’s been scrambling a lot more the last few weeks. If you can do that, which the Chargers with their full complement of edge rushers, with everybody healthy, they should be absolutely able to do that. And if they are, I just don’t think Trevor Lawrence can beat them. Yeah. And when they are looking to pin their ears back and attack this offensive line, it’s very easy to see who the target should be. You look no further than left tackle Walker Little. He’s given up 36 pressures and eight sacks in nine games. and he’s given up at least one sack in each of the last four games. And Lawrence got sacked five times against the Houston Texans. So, the Chargers absolutely should be looking to heat him up, hit him as many times as possible, and play games with that left tackle. Set him up, do some stunts and twists of your own on that side. And I think you’re going to find a lot of success getting after him. And they need it, right? The Chargers, we talked about it this week already, but like the pass rush and the coverage goes hand in hand. The craziest part about how well the Chargers secondary has played is how, you know, kind of middle of the pack they’ve been, you know, as far as rushing the passer. Obviously, they had half the season without Adaf and I missed a big chunk of Kio Mack and, you know, the time he spent on injured reserve and they’ve been a different defense since then. The Chargers defense against, you know, comparable offensive lines over the last three weeks has been able to dominate and I don’t think anything less than that is acceptable in this game. I think it is about that group being able to out physical the group in front of them to keep the Chargers in it because that is what Jim Harbaugh’s brand is supposed to be. You can show that in this game. If you out physical them and you punch them in the face, I just don’t think they’re going to be able to handle it. So, to me, that is something that I think is huge. Obviously, the Chargers have been much better against stationary quarterbacks like an Aaron Rogers or a Carson Wentz or a Gino Smith. Trevor Lawrence is definitely in a tier above as far as the mobility goes, but he will take some sacks. He will hold on to the football and he will kind of make some boneheaded plays uh if he is under pressure and has to kind of create on his own. But the next one I go to here, David, is take advantage of the Jaguars penalties and drops. The Jaguars lead the NFL in penalties this year, averaging 9.2 per game and averaging over 10 per game over their last three games. We saw a stretch of the Chargers doing that as well, but they have committed 53 offensive penalties in nine games. You cannot let them off the hook in those situations. It’s something that popped up to me when I was watching that Texans game last week and wondering how did Davis Mills erase a 17-0 comeback against the Jaguars. And man, the Jaguars offense just kept shooting itself in the foot. And then you also combine that with the Jaguars leading the NFL in drops this year with 25. Brian Thomas Jr. second in the NFL with seven drops. They have two other guys that have at least four drops. You have to be able to take advantage because if they’re going to give you those freebies, you have to be able to get off the field. No question. And obviously a great way to get off the field is winning the turnover battle. Trevor Lawrence has thrown a pick in consecutive games and has six turnover worthy plays in the last two games. He also fumbled twice against Houston and lost one of them and that turned into a touchdown that effectively ended that football game. So, the Chargers need to look for those opportunities. Trevor Lawrence has consistently shown that he will put the ball in harm’s way and also he’s a little bit loose with ball security. So, the Chargers should be looking to knock that football out, should be looking to get their hands on it and capitalize on those mistakes. Just as much as you have to capitalize on those penalties that you’re going to get and make those hurt, you got to get these turnovers and make those hurt and turn those into touchdowns. Absolutely. I mean, that it really is what it’s going to come down to. I mean, the Chargers defense when they’ve been able to take the football away, they’ve been really good. And I think there was just, you know, quite a stretch in the middle of this season where I felt like they just could not get the ball away from the other team. So, I think with the pass rush being better, you’ll see a little bit more of that. does concern me a little bit that Elijah Molden popped up on the injury report on Thursday and didn’t practice. Uh that isn’t super, you know, you don’t love to see that, but you like what RJ Mickens has been able to do. Tony Jefferson was a to a healthy scratch last week according to Jim Harbaugh. So, he’ll be back in the lineup, but I think the last thing too is just like just don’t make, you know, no big plays like Brian Thomas Jr. I although it’s been a rough season, we saw what he can do last year and it only takes a couple of big plays which his team has been really good at limiting over the last several weeks to kind of change the complexion of a game. Make them earn it. If you make Trevor Lawrence have to dink and dunk down the field and don’t give them those easy chunks, I think it’ll be a long day for the Jaguars offense like it has been for the Titans offense and the Vikings offense and the Steelers offense as well. spot. We do need to get to the offensive side of things because they’re go the Chargers are going up against a team with the least sacks in the league. And I do think there may be a little bit of an underrated group that pass rush, but there’s no reason for Justin Herbert not to feast. We’re going to get into all that and more in today’s Locked on Chargers podcast. First, I need to tell you guys that this episode is brought to you by Price Picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on Price Picks, being right can get you paid. Don’t miss out on the excitement of this sports season. Whether you’re following the NFL, NBA, or both, there’s no better time to jump in on the action than right now. And if you haven’t tried it yet, prize picks is the simplest way to play. All you have to do, pick more or less on at least two player stats. And if you get them right, you win. It takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup. And you can play anywhere that Price Picks operates, including California, Texas, and also Georgia. for this week. If you want to do the Chargers game, all you have to do is go with Justin Herbert to throw for more than or less than 250 and a half passing yards. And you can combine that with Aronda Gadston the second to go for more than or less than 43 and a half receiving yards. All you have to do is hit two. If you hit two, then you’re in the money. Download the Prize Pix app today and use the code lockdown NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code lockdown NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup price picks. It’s good to be right. David, let’s get into our def our offensive keys here. Switch things up a little bit today obviously, but thank you guys for always checking out the show and helping us get to 2 million YouTube views this season, which is just something that’s insane because we’ve half more than half of our locked on tenure wasn’t even on YouTube or just about half. So, that’s pretty crazy. We appreciate you guys helping us make the entire network the number one sports podcast network. But let’s get the offensive keys here, David. And I think it always starts with the commander-in-chief and Justin Herbert. But you don’t often get to say that this is a game where he might not get put on the ground, you know, 15 times. But that is something that is on the table for this one. At least recently, the Chargers, the Jaguars pass rush has not been great and quarterbacks have been torching them. teams have thrown for at least 284 passing yards in five out of the last six games. That’s crazy. The Chargers should be able to have some chances to take some more shots down the field potentially in this game than maybe just the quick passing game that we’ve seen. And like I said, the Jaguars have the least sacks in the league this year. And they’ve also allowed a passer rating of 117 or better to opposing quarterbacks in three of the last four games. Now, Justin Herbert has been sacked 11 times in the last two games. So, there’s no pass rush that they can take lightly, but I would say that, hey, this is a game where Justin Herbert, you know, when you’re looking at the the rushing matchup as opposed to the passing game, Justin Herbert has the best matchup in this game, and he has to be able to feast on it. Yeah. I mean, in in the previous game against the Steelers, he had to use the machine gun. He had to get the ball out of his hand quickly and get it out to a receiver and let them work. in this game. He might be able to use the bazooka. He might be able to use the rocket launcher and be able to set it up a little bit more because yeah, they have given up a ton of passing yards this season. Momes 318, Brock Pery 309, Sam Darnold 292, Stafford threw for five touchdowns against them, Gino through for four. So yeah, it’s all it’s air raid. I mean, go ahead and open up the passing game. This is the 28th ranked pass defense in the league. The Chargers absolutely should be looking to exploit that. And when they do that, definitely use the tight ends. Daniel, this is a big matchup for the tight ends for the Chargers. The Jaguars have allowed 39 receptions for 467 yards and seven touchdowns to tight ends in their last six games. So, hello Aronda Gatston II. He absolutely should be heavily involved in the game plan. And I know after the last game, I’m sure it, you know, left a little bit of a bad taste in his mouth, not being as productive as he has been the last three or four games before that and also leaving with an injury that he’s going to want to come back and really reestablish himself as one of the best tight ends in the league, which so far he absolutely is as he’s seventh in the league in receiving yards for tight ends. Yeah, I mean, he’s been phenomenal. Obviously last game he missed a huge portion of the game, didn’t have the numbers we’re used to seeing him have, but also just, you know, kind of looked like a rookie for the first time this season. And that’s definitely one of my keys though is just getting a bounceback game for Aronda Gaton because although it’s been bad for the Jaguars against tight ends over the last six games, it’s been even worse over their last three games. Over the last three games, Jaguars have allowed a 316 yards to tight ends. That’s 105 yards per game and have allowed 77 or more yards in four of their last six. So, I think this is more about the safeties. They have pretty good coverage linebackers, but nothing that Aronda Gadston can’t handle. But, I just think that wherever Justin Herbert looks, he’s going to have a pretty good matchup. I think he just has to be careful, right? This is a team that’s second in the NFL in interceptions, but also a team that really piled them up early on in the season. had three turn or takeaways or more in their first three games or had three exactly in each of their first three games and they have had four in their fourth game. So that’s 13 they had in their first four games and they’ve only had five since then. So it’s trailed off but Justin Nerber has to take care of the ball no matter who he’s looking towards. And even the wide receivers, I mean when you’re looking at Travis Hunter being out for the year, Jordan Lewis, who’s one of their best corners, hasn’t practiced at all this week. Greg Newsome, who they traded for, hasn’t just been good, which sucks for them, obviously. Uh, where else would you want to go as far as your offensive keys for success? Yeah, I don’t want to see them uh abandon the quick passing game. I I know it might not be as prevalent against the Jaguars, but it was something that was working. I mean, those quick passes you get in the hands of Quinton Johnston, it’s five to 15 yards seems like every single time when when they’re able to get that out there. And I I want to see more of that. I mean, they’re great drive starters and they’re great drive extenders and they could be an extension of the running game, which, you know, as porous as the Jaguars pass defense is, they’re pretty solid against the run. Uh, so it is more of the strength of their football team. So, I want to see them continue to use that quick passing game because it helps you stay on the field and it also protects your quarterback by getting the ball out of his hands quickly. And for Justin Herbert, who has gotten hit pretty much more than anybody in the league, getting the ball out of his hands quickly is not a bad idea. Well, especially because they they probably traded their best tackling corner and Tyson Campbell when they made that trade for Greg Newsome, who is the worst graded tackler on their entire team. So, I think it’s definitely smart to test the edges, especially if you cannot get the running game going because I definitely like I think you have to run to protect Justin Herbert. Yeah, I think you have to run to keep the play action in play and and I think Kamani Vital has shown that he has the ability to at least be able to not take big losses to turn out the yards that he has to when he has to to keep them at least ahead of the sticks enough. You definitely don’t want to be behind the sticks. But I do think that short passing game has to be there, right? Because another part of that is I even though they have the least sacks in the league, I I think that that has maybe led Chargers fans to underrate what the Jaguars have from a pass rush perspective. And I just noticed it when I was watching the games because I knew they had the least sacks in the league before I watched the games, but when you watch it, it’s not like they’re not getting pressure. And and even more than that, this is a team who’s actually above average at getting pressure. And my last key here, don’t let Eric Armstead and Josh Hines Allen beat you. And it could be as simple as that because those two guys are are the driving force of the pass rush. Even if they don’t have the sacks, pressure leads to worse quarterback play for any quarterback. That doesn’t just because they’re not sacking Justin Herbert doesn’t mean they can’t derail an offensive game plan by getting pressure and getting into his face. You know, the other thing about pressure in your face leads to a lot of batted passes, which is why Justin Herbert has so many of this year because defensive ends and and tackles are standing a yard and a half in front of his face and jumping up. Those two guys have combined for 75 pressures so far in nine games. That is 41 a.5% of the team’s total pressures. If you can focus your attention there, I don’t expect these Chargers offensive linemen to always win these one-on-one matchups. But when you have a a team like this where it is so kind of heavily concentrated on two guys being the main guys that are going to wreck you if they are going to, that’s where you have to be able to focus on right on the interior. If you’re sending the center one way or the other, send him to Eric Armstead to help out the guard who Eric Armstead’s on his side. Right? If you’re talking about your tackles and you need you can only chip for one side of them, find Josh Hines Allen and make Trayvon Walker be you. And Trayvon Walker’s been pretty good. But I don’t want Josh Hines Allen to beat me if I’m the Chargers. I don’t want it to be Eric Armstead. Both of those guys are sixth at their respective positions as far as pressures at that spot. So, as much as the no sacks is encouraging, David, I don’t think that should lead us to underestimate the pressure and the Chargers still needing to take care of business in that regard. Yeah. I mean, sacks are not obviously that’s the sexy stat number, but that’s not the end all beall as far as how pressure affects a quarterback, right? There’s a lot of different ways that it can do that. you know, you you speed him up, make him throw high, make him throw before he’s ready. I mean, there’s a ton of different ways that the pressure can affect the quarterback. So, the Chargers, knowing that those are the two guys that you have to neutralize, have to make sure that their protection plan has all the answers for what they’re trying to throw at you. Eliminate those two guys and Justin Herbert should have a comfortable day. and they try to single him out and help him out with twists and stunts like that, which has obviously been a kryptonite for this Chargers offensive line. But I think at a certain point, it just becomes about risk mitigation. Like, you’re going to have to take your one-on-one chances with some of these guys, but it’s about how do you best help them? It’s never going to be good. It It’s never going to be great. It might not even be really good. How do you get it? Okay. Right. Like, how do you get If you get an okay game out of your offensive line in this one, the Chargers will put up 35. Oh, yeah. Like, simple as that. truly get it to okay and you will take care of business in this game. But we still have more to get into. How bold of a prediction is it that Trevor Penning starts in this game. We have to get into our bowling game predictions on today’s Lockdown Chargers podcast. The NFL season is back and honestly there’s nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering your team on. But let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle. Between cues, login screens, and prices jumping up at checkout. It’s super frustrating and that’s why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to the fans. Game Time is fast, easy, and backed by the Game Time Guarantee, meaning you’ll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. I know we all have a moment where we thought we’ve gotten really good deals on tickets and then you get to the checkout and all of a sudden you’re paying, you know, 25% more than you thought you were because of service fees, checkout fees, every kind of fee. Don’t worry about those fees cuz with game time, the price you see is the price that you’re going to get. And if you’re near the Jaguars game, you can get into that game for as low as $43, but I’m guessing most of you aren’t. So that means you can get into the next Chargers game against the Raiders in the All Navies in a couple of weeks on November 30th for around $130. And I would keep an eye on it because as we know with Game Time, the closer it gets to kickoff, the lower the prices get. So download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s code L O C E D O N for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download Game Time today. David, it’s time to open things up to the fans because we have to get into our bold predictions. And we have some spicy ones on today’s show, including one I think that is just borderline crazy uh from We Are the Storm, which is where I want to start things here. Bold prediction is Trevor Penning starts at left tackle, and that’s crazy in its own right. Allows zero pressures and zero sacks. That’s nuts. That I mean, it hasn’t happened for him this year. a lot of pressure in every game. That’s not the craziest part. And scores a touchdown catch as an eligible receiver in the goal line to win the game. David, if you want bold, that is bold. You’re muted. That’s almost as funny as me being muted when I have to answer a question. Uh that is definitely not going to happen. Uh and I I’m I’m willing to bet a lot of money on it. I’m not going to put a number on it because I’m not going to allow you guys to hold me to it. Uh, that would be hilarious, but that’s just not how the Chargers operate. I just don’t see them doing that. Um, if they did, man, that would be the funniest thing to happen all season long. But do you think he can start? Yes, that I do. I do feel like he I think he’s going to start. I I think he should start. Um, hopefully he’s ready to. I think that would be the only reason maybe why he doesn’t is just cuz he doesn’t have enough time to feel confident that he can execute the game plan, which if that’s the case, I totally understand it. But from like a best option type standpoint, it’s hard to argue that he’s not that best option. 100%. I think the only thing that complicates things here is just that the by-week is next week. Like, you know, they have that kind of built in where they could say, “Okay, well, let’s roll with Austin Deculus one more time this week at left tackle and then we’ll catch, you know, Trevor Penning up to speed during the by-week.” because it seems like what’s happening is they they like Deculus over Jamari Sawyer not because of what they do in pass protection because Sawyer is a much better pass protector, but they feel like they can run more of their offense. Saw 80 Simon saying this. I saw Alex Katson saying this. Jamari Sawyer can’t do what they want to do in the running game. So, they’re willing to take the deficiencies in pass protection, whether you agree with it or not, uh to go with Austin Deculus. Trevor Penning does feel like a guy where even if he hasn’t been great in pass protection, could still bring that level of run blocking and even better while not being as bad as Austin Deculos has been, which is the worst left tackle pass blocking in the NFL since he’s taken over. So, the bar is low. And also, Greg Roman, you know, there’s been some red zone struggles this year. It’s been a lot better. I give you credit where credit is due. Let’s get a little creativity. Let’s have a tackle go out there and catch a touchdown. I mean, I’m I’m willing to see it for sure, but I know we have a lot of Justin Herbert bold predictions this week. I know we talked about the match up that he has. Let’s hear what Frank has for us. Daniel, David, what’s going on? It’s Frank Woodman giving a call. I just want to say you guys do an excellent job on the podcast. Listen to you every day. Favorite part of the day. I just wanted to go ahead and give you my goal prediction for the game. Justin Herbert, 350 passing yards and three touchdowns. Time for him to light up this Jaguars defense. The offensive line will give him time and he’s going to finally play a good game on the East Coast that starts at one o’clock. Go Bulls, boys. Thank you for your kind words and it’s such an interesting point because I mean you talked about on yesterday’s show just the slow starts the Chargers have gotten off to against Miami, against the Titans, right? There’s I mean against the Giants, right? The one loss they’ve had to a bad team this year. Uh I I do think that’s, you know, pertinent for sure. Getting good pass protection obviously is a pretty bold prediction in its own right. We also had Jeremy Williams who said Herbert has a season high in rushing yards this week. Man, a says that Justin Herbert’s going for 460 this week. So I definitely understand the big games. I would slow down the rushing stats just because Jags are giving up an average of 7.3 rushing yards per game to quarterbacks over the last four. I think Justin Herb will still be able to move the sticks and get a couple key ones. I don’t necessarily expect a season high, but yeah, I mean, David, Justin Herbert going for 350 in this game and three touchdowns. Like, that wouldn’t come as a huge surprise to me. No, not at all. I I think that the matchup lends itself for that to happen. And, you know, the he has three games over 300 yards. Obviously, has that one over 400 passing yards so far this season. So, it’s not like it’s not possible. And, you know, the the Jaguars have given up two 300yard passers so far this season. Uh, I think that this matchup absolutely lends itself for that to happen. Uh, I think the rushing yards as well, I think that’s probably going to be a little bit uh, far-fetched there just because they do have some very fast athletic linebackers that will help obviously try to stem that. But the passing yards, yeah, that doesn’t seem like it’s out of the realm of possibility. No, I don’t. I mean, I would like to see maybe a couple design Justin Herbert carries too. Obviously, we know he got a little rolled up on last week, but maybe something to loosen the running game up from that aspect. But let’s switch over to the defensive side and go here with Alfredo who says, “Our defense feasts against the Jags and has four takeaways and returns one for a tutty.” David, what do you think? If that happens, the Chargers are going to blow out the the Jaguars without a doubt. I I I I feel very confident in that. And you know, the Chargers have done that. you know, they’ve been able to to force that many turnovers, but it’s something where you’re gonna have to get grab a couple interceptions and you’re gonna have to force a couple of fumbles, which fortunately, uh, Trevor Lawrence does have a propensity to put the ball in harm’s way. And also, you know, he will fumble the ball from time to time. It is something that we’ve seen. And so, um, that’s what would it h it would have to take. That would be a great defensive performance. It would. And I mean, for all the flaws the Jaguars have had, they haven’t been terrible at giving the ball away. I mean, Jacksonville is only averaging one giveaway per game and they haven’t given away given away the ball more than twice all season long. So, getting four would be doubling the most they’ve given up all season. I would settle for two or even just one pick six. And that leads to Kohani here. His bold prediction is Derwin pick six. David Derwin pick six. Man, I would love to see it. Um, but the crazy thing is is in Derwin’s illustrious career, he has 10 interceptions, he has not taken a single one back to the house at any point in his career. And obviously playing the safety position, it’s a little bit more difficult to do that because you don’t really find yourself in those positions where like corners where you can just jumper out and grab it and just basically walk to the end zone. Safeties don’t really get that. You know, they have to create and do a whole lot more. you know, they got to basically turn into a running back in the open field and try to make people miss and they got to set up the caravan. It’s just a lot more that goes into it. I’d love to see it. Um, obviously for Derwin, the only thing he really needs in his career is to rack up more interceptions. So, to for me, the more the marrier. Yeah, that’s crazy. He’s never had one, but like it is something that just doesn’t happen a lot. You know, we get those in the bold predictions every week, but like Tarheep still last year getting that pick six against the Falcons that basically won them that game. It was like the first pick six they’ve gotten in like the last several seasons. So, it is really rare. I I would like to see it though because Derwin doesn’t have an interception or a sack in the last three games. Maybe it’s a multi-sack game for Derwin James. But let’s get into our player bowl predictions. David, who’d you go with this week? Yeah, I think this one’s the easy one. And I kind of hinted at it a little bit earlier, but it’s a Ronda Gatson the second coming back with an absolute vengeance. I think he’s going to go off eight catches, 140 yards, and two touchdowns. I love that. I also add a Ronda Gatson, but I’ll switch mine. I like Derwin in this game. It does feel like a game where, you know, the Jags have given up 19 sacks in their last three losses. The Chargers try to press the issue a little bit on Justin Herbert and send him a little bit more. It’ll be interesting because Elijah Bolton obviously might miss this game. uh you know, and that maybe puts Derwin James deeper a little bit, but still I’ll go with Derwin James. Two sacks and a forced fumble on Trevor Lawrence. Let’s get to the game itself. David, who do you have winning this one? Two teams seemingly kind of heading in opposite directions. I know it was a few years ago, but I don’t care. I didn’t forget. I know all the Charger fans out there didn’t forget either. This one definitely means a little bit more to some of those guys, Justin Herbert included. He’ll never say it, but you know, he’s had this game circled. He wants that one back. I think they’re gonna get that one back. I have the Chargers winning this game 34 to 20. Oh, I like that. Double digits two touchdown win for the Chargers. I think it’ll be Man, it’s tough because like this is a team and the Jaguars obviously that’s been spiraling a little bit, but also took the Chiefs out uh you know only a few weeks ago. So, I don’t think the Chargers should underestimate them. The East Coast trips are definitely hard, but I learned my lesson last week. I will be picking the Chargers to win this game. Maybe you guys should want me to honestly pick against the Chargers. Uh considering it worked last week now. But I I just I don’t think there’s any excuse for the Chargers to to lose this game. Like I said, this is a team that blew a 17-point lead last week to Davis Mills and a Texans offense that hasn’t even been good when CJ Strad’s been throwing the football. Their only win out of their last four games was against the Raiders. The Raiders, that Raiders team. and it was by one point and it was because the Raiders went for two at the end of the game, had a guy wide open and the Jaguars batted the pass down at the line of scrimmage on a two-point conversion. You can’t afford to lose this team and if you do win it, uh me and you were talking about it like the playoff percentages are crazy. The Chargers play out percentage goes up to about 91% according to Aaron Shots and it’s 56% if they lose whereas the Jaguars if they lose goes down to like 19% chance of them making the playoffs and there’s just pretty much no way they can catch the Chargers. So, I do have the Chargers winning 27, Jaguars 23. I think Jaguars maybe cut it a late, but don’t really ever fully threaten the Chargers uh late in this game. But it’s been a while since the Chargers have raised our heart rate. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened this week. And the funny thing about the Raiders, David, is because is that the Chargers obviously had one of their most embarrassing games ever against the Raiders in that 63 to 21 game. All that’s happened since then is the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh and they have not lost to the Raiders since. They’re 3-0 against the Raiders in Jim Harbaugh’s career tenure as the Chargers head coach. Uh I think they can put another big kind of, you know, exercise another demon this weekend against the Jaguars and make it four straight wins and a really dominant spot as far as what they need to do down the stretch to go make the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since like 2010. So, I think the Chargers will get it done and I hope to see you guys after for the lockdown Chargers postgame show. Thank you as always for making us your first listen and make sure you have your notifications set for Sunday afternoon when we go live to talk about this game. And you can also find the show every day on all of our social media, lockdown on Twitter, Lockdown Chargers on Instagram and our Locked On Chargers Facebook page. If you guys want to call into the show like Frank did today, you can do that at 323-524-7924 and get your 30 secondond Chargers question, bold prediction, or buy or sell in. But also make sure you never miss the show by subscribing or following for free on the Lockdown Chargers YouTube channel and listening wherever you get your podcast from. No excuses. Get the job done victory postgame show hopefully afterwards on Sunday. But until then guys, take it easy and go Bolts.

Los Angeles Chargers face a must-win showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars with playoff implications hanging in the balance. A victory pushes the Chargers’ postseason chances to 91%, while a loss drops them to just 56%.

Daniel Wade and David Droegemeier break down why Khalil Mack and company have to bring the physicality and how Justin Herbert can exploit Jacksonville’s 28th-ranked pass defense and struggling offensive line that’s surrendered 20 sacks in four games. The hosts analyze Travis Etienne’s impact on the Jaguars’ offense, the massive tight end matchup favoring the Chargers, and whether Trevor Penning will make his starting debut at left tackle. Key discussions include neutralizing Josh Hines Allen and Arik Armstead’s elite pass rush, capitalizing on Trevor Lawrence’s recent turnover struggles, and how the Chargers can avenge their embarrassing playoff loss to Jacksonville.

Tune in for bold predictions, fan call-ins, and expert analysis on how Los Angeles can extend their winning streak to four games and take control of their playoff destiny.

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