Sure, the Hall of Fame Game is little more than a glorified joint scrimmage, but the Chargers had reasons to feel good Thursday night about their performance in a 34-7 victory over the NFC darling Detroit Lions.
Keep in mind, this wasn’t a quarterback showcase featuring stars Justin Herbert and Jared Goff.
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It was Trey Lance versus Kyle Allen, a duel more befitting the announced crowd of 18,144 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
This take-the-wrapper-off game gives coaches a first look at their young players and allows bottom-of-the-roster hopefuls an opportunity to catch a football, or catch an eye — either by their current team or perhaps a next one.
Here are five observations from the Chargers’ preseason opener:
Trey Lance in the spotlight
Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes in the first half of the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday. (David Richard / Associated Press)
Lance, the onetime third overall pick of San Francisco, looked sharp and polished. Whether that’s enough for him to get the upper hand on Taylor Heinicke for the Chargers’ backup job remains to be seen, but Lance didn’t hurt his chances.
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He completed 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
The disclaimer here bears repeating: The preseason is not the regular season, either in speed or talent of the players on the field. A guy can look like an All-Pro in these games and not even make the final roster. In fact, that happens all the time.
Read more: Latest Jim Harbaugh experiment could have a major impact on Justin Herbert’s season
Two of Lance’s more memorable passes were to fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who had a 28-yard reception on third down and a 15-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. There’s plenty of opportunity for a young receiver to step up for the Chargers, and Lambert-Smith is doing that so far.
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First-round pick Omarion Hampton got two carries early in the game, one of them for an eight-yard gain. On the other, though, he tried to bounce outside in the red zone and couldn’t elude cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, who took him out with an ankle tackle.
Although Lance played most of the game for the Chargers, DJ Uiagalelei, the five-star quarterback who played at St. John Bosco, got some snaps as well.
Read more: Canton memories: The Harbaugh family’s connection to Ohio’s ‘Cradle of Coaches’
Reed and react
Chargers rookie cornerback Nikko Reed made a beautiful play in the first quarter, jumping an out-route by Detroit receiver Tom Kennedy and picking off an Allen pass. Reed, an undrafted free agent who played at Colorado and Oregon, then tore off a 46-yard return down the sideline.
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A week earlier, Reed had a pick-six in practice, and has made positive plays in virtually every session.
“I would say [consistency] is probably the most impressive,” Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter told reporters earlier in the week in reference to Reed. “The old adage is, ‘Make a play a day and people will start to know who you are.’
“Especially if you’re undrafted, it’s like how do you get people in the building, organization to really remember who that guy is? You make a play every day.”
Read more: How Antonio Gates amazingly made the Hall of Fame without playing college football
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Getting a jump
Chargers guard Branson Taylor, left, blocks Detroit Lions defensive end Keith Cooper Jr. during the first half Thursday. (David Richard / Associated Press)
It looked at times as if the right side of the Chargers line was firing off early, although that wasn’t necessarily reflected in the penalty count. That was an area in which the team excelled last season. After some early issues, the Chargers were disciplined and didn’t commit a lot of presnap penalties.
The 2024 Chargers averaged 0.89 false starts per game, tying them for fourth-fewest in the NFL.
Zion Johnson, a guard who has been rotating in at center, had some problems with his snaps early in the game.
The interior of the Chargers’ offensive line is an unresolved issue that opponents will once again exploit if the leaks don’t get patched.
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Chain reaction
Chain gangs will still have a role in NFL games, but virtual measurements are gradually being embraced.
The league officially unveiled its virtual measurement system, which will be used in the regular season for the first time and is aimed at reducing delays and improving consistency on first-down rulings. It was in place last year but only as a test.
Chain gangs will still be in place for backup measurements, if necessary.
While officials will still spot the ball and determine forward progress, the virtual system relies on six 8K Sony Hawk-Eye cameras to track the precise position of the football relative to the line to gain.
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The NFL’s football operations department said the average line-to-gain measurement takes 75 seconds with human officials, whereas the Hawk-Eye system can do it in 30 seconds. Across the league, officials made an average of 12 such measurements a week.
One for the ages
Chargers legend Antonio Gates will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. (Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
The Hall of Fame Game is merely a prelude to the main event of the weekend, Saturday’s induction of the 2025 class.
Among those players is Chargers great Antonio Gates, the only Hall of Fame player to never play a snap of college football. He was a basketball star just up the road at Kent State, and wound up becoming the NFL’s all-time touchdown leader for tight ends.
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That feat, to go from no college ball to the pinnacle of the game, is stunning to so many, including fellow 2025 inductee Sterling Sharpe.
“Like everything in life, the way we were taught is that you have to learn to follow before you can lead,” Sharpe said. “You’ve got to learn to go through the step of disappointment of, not being a running back but being a safety, not being a quarterback but being a receiver…
“For him to go from basketball into football at that level and end up in the Hall of Fame? I can’t articulate that. It’s tremendous.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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