Rookie receivers steal show in Chargers' preseason loss to Rams

New York Times

a day ago

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh is not going to be happy with how this game ended. But the preseason is not about results. It is about development. And the most important development from the Los Angeles Chargers' 23-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday was a collective step forward from the rookie receivers.
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Second-round pick Tre' Harris did not have a catch on two targets in the Chargers' first two games of the preseason. On Saturday, he broke out. Harris led the Chargers with six catches on eight targets for 85 yards, including a toe-tap deep-ball reception down the right sideline. Three of Harris' other catches went for third-down conversions.
yes tre harris
📺 | CBS2 LA pic.twitter.com/6KLkb5kHsd
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 17, 2025
Fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith flashed with two catches for 43 yards and a touchdown in the Hall of Fame Game last month. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, Lambert-Smith did not have a catch on two targets. On Saturday, Lambert-Smith had two explosive catches, one for 37 yards and one for 29 yards, showing off his big-play potential. Like Harris, Lambert-Smith had a toe-tap deep-ball catch down the right sideline. The play displayed his best traits: speed, hands, ball tracking and body control.
Even undrafted rookie Luke Grimm got in on the action. Grimm returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that put the Chargers ahead.
'All the receivers really did an outstanding job,' Harbaugh said.
Harris and Lambert-Smith stepped up after Quentin Johnston suffered a concussion on the opening drive of the game.
Harbaugh decided to play his starters, including quarterback Justin Herbert. On the third play, Johnston was open on a go route down the right sideline. Herbert's throw came in and glanced off Johnston's hands. It looked like Rams cornerback A.J. Green might have tipped the ball just before it reached Johnston. Safety Tanner Ingle then delivered a huge hit to Johnston, who was down after the play.
Johnston eventually stood up on his own, but he was carted off the field. Harbaugh said after the game that Johnston was transported to a hospital for further evaluation out of 'precaution.'
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'Looked like it could have been a lot worse,' Harbaugh said. 'He was talking, he remembered the play, was moving good. So in that way, it's a good thing.'
The starters remained in to finish the drive, and it was Lambert-Smith — not Harris — who replaced Johnston as one of the outside receivers.
Herbert went right to Lambert-Smith on his first dropback after Johnston's injury. Lambert-Smith ran a corner route from the outside left of the formation. Herbert threw a perfect ball past cornerback Shaun Jolly.
'Even if I'm covered, always expect the ball from 10,' Lambert-Smith said. 'That was elite placement.'
Lambert-Smith said Herbert offered some encouragement in the huddle after the completion: 'More to come.'
'He let me know,' Lambert-Smith said. 'It felt a little good.'
Herbert went back to Lambert-Smith two plays later on a jump ball in the back right corner of the end zone. That one fell incomplete.
'It shouldn't be like a backup comes in,' Lambert-Smith said of working with the starters. 'We don't want nothing to slow down, and 10 showed me that off the rip by going at me twice.'
Harris said receivers coach Sanjay Lal challenged the rookie receivers Friday and then again during pregame Saturday.
'Just us being more intense in everything we do, whether it's run blocking, whether it's us going out and making catches,' Harris said. 'Go out there and have fun, first and foremost, and play with a certain amount of intensity to where it allows you to play freely. Have that controlled rage with each and every rep you do, and it's going to allow you to play with such confidence that I was able to display today.'
rookie WRs 📈 pic.twitter.com/M59mBqHTdi
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 17, 2025
Harris said the rookies 'lacked' that intensity in the first two games.
'He's always digging for not just me or the rookies, he's digging for everybody to continue to get better,' Harris said of Lal. 'No matter if it's in the run game, no matter if it's at the top of the route, our release game, he's always looking for a way for us to get better, and that's something that I feel like definitely helped us today.'
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Harris did not separate consistently in one-on-one situations in the first two games. He said Saturday that his focus heading into Saturday was 'being physically dominant.'
That was evident on some of his third-down reps. Harris won off the line of scrimmage on a third-and-6 in the second quarter, hauling in the catch from quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who replaced Herbert. In the third quarter, with Trey Lance at quarterback, Harris made a contested catch on a comeback route to the left on a third-and-8. Lance — who passed for 121 yards and rushed for 25 — threw with outstanding anticipation on the play.
Four plays later, Harris won off the line of scrimmage again on a slant, covering a third-and-9 from Lance.
His go-ball reception came on the same drive.
'I definitely think it added a little confidence,' Harris said of the performance.
Harris said Saturday was his dad's birthday and he was in attendance at SoFi Stadium.
'Shoutout to him,' Harris said. 'Glad he got to come out and see me do what I do best.'
According to Harris, Grimm has earned the nickname 'Grimm Reaper' in the Chargers receivers room. Last week, Grimm nearly broke off a long punt return against the Saints. He got tripped up just before finding daylight. This week, Grimm bounced to his left and surged to the end zone behind some excellent blocking.
'That's what Reap do,' Harris said.
run, rook, run
📺 | CBS2 LA pic.twitter.com/gqihpDhcL5
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 17, 2025
Added Grimm, who missed practice time early in camp with an injury: 'Just prove your worth. … Whether it's kickoff, punt, punt return, kickoff return, front line, it doesn't matter. If I'm blocking or catching footballs, I just want to show that I can provide for this team and help us win games.'
The game ended sourly for the Chargers, as the Rams, led by quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, drove 75 yards on 10 plays for the winning touchdown. The Chargers gave up a 40-yard Hail Mary on a fourth-and-10 with 11 seconds remaining that set up the go-ahead score.
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'It feels like regular season to me right now,' Harbaugh said moments after the loss.
It does not count in the standings.
What could count toward wins moving forward: Harris and Lambert-Smith making the types of plays they made Saturday.
'We're going to continue to grow together,' Lambert-Smith said.
(Photo of Tre' Harris: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
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