Khalil Mack’s Revenge Game Helps Secure the Win
Photo Credit: Icon Sportswire, Getty Images
Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack had zero sacks in the first three games of the season. Fans were complaining that an edge rushing duo of Mack and defensive end Joey Bosa should be much more productive than it has been. Well, fans disappointment with Mack’s performance this season was suddenly silenced during Week 4’s game versus the Las Vegas Raiders. Mack, in his revenge game against the team that traded him away in 2018, totaled six sacks, two forced fumbles, eight solo tackles and one pass deflection.
Mack’s Sunday afternoon performance marks him as only the fifth player in NFL history to achieve the feat of six sacks, and he was one sack short of tying Derrick Thomas’ all-time record of seven in 1990. It was only poetry that Mack would have this performance versus the Raiders, a team he clearly still holds resentment towards after they pawned him off five-years-ago.
This kind of poetry was something the Chargers have been waiting for all season. The defense, who has given up 26.0 points per game, which is 26th in the league, has been relying on the offense to win games in an old-fashioned shootout. Fans were expecting a lot more from their defense, which is filled with talent this season. The defense did not disappoint this week, as it held the Raiders below 20 points, the first time the defense has done so this season. This performance certainly has to be attributed to Mack, who had his best game as a Charger to date on Sunday. While fans might have been surprised by the sudden performance, Mack’s teammates were not. Tuli Tuipulotu, one of Mack’s fellow edge rushers, had this to say.
"He was on a different type of timing this week. He just seemed real happy. I knew what time it was," Tuipulotu told ESPN. "He was smiling a whole lot this week. I saw him dancing a whole lot this week, so I knew it was coming."
Head Coach Brandon Staley was no different. Despite the criticism that both Staley and Mack have been receiving this season, Staley was ready to talk about his guy. "This guy is one of the best edge players of this generation, and he is still that guy," Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. "He just showed everybody, 'I'm still that guy.'”
Photo Credit: Harry How, Getty Images
Of course, Staley was ready to praise Mack, considering Mack’s performance possibly saved Staley from another bad coaching job that almost resulted in an unwarranted loss. But at the moment, Chargers fans certainly are not complaining. Even though the defense was dealing with injuries, it finally looked like it was growing into its potential, with Mack as the centerpiece. If Khalil Mack and the defense continue to perform like this, especially with the way Justin Herbert has been playing on the offensive side of the ball, Chargers fans definitely have something to look forward to this season.
