What’s fueling NFL rushing leader J.K. Dobbins’ historic start with Chargers?

Ben Arthur

NFL Reporter

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 2 winner: Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins.

After the Chargers’ 26-3 rout of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, general manager Joe Hortiz spoke to running back J.K. Dobbins in the celebratory postgame locker room. The GM’s message: “No more flips.”

Dobbins did one on his 43-yard touchdown run that pushed L.A.’s lead to 13-0 in the second quarter. He somersaulted into the end zone.

As the veteran tailback explains it, “it just happened.” He didn’t stick the landing, though.

“I didn’t,” a smiling Dobbins acknowledged to reporters, “but it’s exciting.”

The same could be said about his overall performance. He had 17 carries for 131 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and the score in the Chargers’ win, pushing the team to 2-0. Dobbins became the first player in franchise history to rush for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games to start a season (he had 135 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts in the Chargers’ season-opening victory over the Las Vegas Raiders).

Dobbins currently leads the NFL with 266 rushing yards on 9.9 yards per carry.

“He’s a guy that speaks in the locker room and everybody respects him,” quarterback Justin Herbert said Sunday. “We’re not surprised by his success. We knew how special he was.”

Dobbins signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Chargers in free agency after an injury-riddled start to his career with the Baltimore Ravens, who drafted him in the second round in 2020.

After a promising rookie season, when he had 134 carries for 805 yards in 15 games, he missed 2021 due to a torn ACL. He missed another nine games in 2022 (two recovering from the ACL injury, another seven due to another knee issue). Then he missed 16 games last season after tearing his Achilles in Week 1. A former Ohio State star, Dobbins missed 43 of 67 regular-season games during his stint in Baltimore.

He’s hoping for better fortunes in Los Angeles.

So far, things look promising.

“To watch him come back even stronger, quicker, faster than before the injury, what a testament to his will,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Sunday. “A lesser man would not be able to do what J.K. has been able to do.”

Why Dobbins was successful in Week 2

Run plays to the left worked wonders for Dobbins and the Chargers’ offense. Of Dobbins’ 17 carries, 13 went to the left for 111 yards — an average of 8.5 yards per attempt. His four carries to the right totaled 24 yards — a very impressive 6.0 yards per carry, but not on par with the rushing efficiency in the other direction.

It speaks to the talent on the left side of the O-line, which features former Pro Bowl tackle Rashawn Slater and guard Zion Johnson (34 career starts in two seasons and counting). Then there’s veteran center Bradley Bozeman, who signed with the Chargers in free agency.

Through two games, Dobbins has been borderline unstoppable running to the left. He has 17 carries for 218 yards (12.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown in that direction, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Those guys have been blocking their tail off, but we’ve been working for this,” Dobbins said of the offensive line. “We have a chemistry that is really good. All those guys are my guys. They’re my brothers. We love each other.”

First-round rookie right tackle Joe Alt, the No. 5 overall pick, also looks like a star already. He was PFF’s highest-graded offensive tackle in Week 1 (87.2), while Slater was No. 2 (82.7).

With what looks to be two elite tackles, the Chargers have the personnel to have a dominant run-first scheme, regardless of the direction they run in — and a healthy Dobbins is the beneficiary. The veteran running back had four carries of at least 10 yards against the Panthers. All of them came rushing on the inside or outside shoulders of Slater and Alt.

Entering Week 3, the Chargers are second in the NFL in rushing offense (197.5 rushing yards per game), fourth in yards per carry (5.6) and sixth in rushing attempts (71). Nearly 57% of their plays so far this season have been runs, according to Pro Football Reference. They’re tied for the fourth-most plays out of 13 personnel (9) and eighth-most out of 21 personnel (11th), two heavy personnel groups, according to Sportradar.

Jim Harbaugh breaks down J.K. Dobbins’ 135-yard rushing game vs. Raiders

Star QB Herbert, meanwhile, has thrown the ball 26 and 20 times in each of the Chargers’ first two games respectively, the first time in his NFL career that he’s thrown fewer than 30 times in back-to-back games.

The Bolts will continue to depend on the run under Harbaugh, but the biggest shift we may see from them moving forward is leaning more heavily on Dobbins. To this point, Los Angeles has split carries between him and veteran Gus Edwards, who has two more carries than Dobbins through two games. But Edwards has 85 rushing yards on 2.9 yards per carry, compared to Dobbins’ 266 on 9.9 yards per carry.

“Healthy J.K., I haven’t had the chance to get those opportunities,” Dobbins said. “And I thank God. … As long as God keeps blessing me, I’m going to keep making them runs.”

After the win at Carolina, Harbaugh said he wasn’t stressed out by Dobbins’ somersault into the end zone. In fact, he was impressed.

“I’ve always admired people that could do that,” Harbaugh said.

At his current pace, Dobbins will be one to admire throughout the season.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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