The Los Angeles Chargers opened their preseason with a 27-7 victory at the Houston Texans on Thursday night.

Here are my takeaways.

1. Trey Lance had an opportunity to slam the door on a backup quarterback competition. He did not seize that opportunity.

Lance started the game for the Chargers and certainly had some bright moments, especially in the early stages. He executed a number of the timing throws that are staples in coordinator Mike McDaniel’s offensive scheme. He looked comfortable in McDaniel’s diverse play-action looks. He created in off-script situations as a runner and passer.

The issue: He did not protect the ball. Lance threw a dreadful pick at the end of the second half that took points off the board. He tried to connect with rookie receiver Brenen Thompson on an in-breaker. Lance did not see Texans safety Kamari Ramsey lurking to the inside. This was questionable vision from Lance, and it came at an inexcusable point of the game, when the Chargers were well within kicker Cameron Dicker’s field goal range.

Ramsey also almost picked off Lance earlier in the second quarter. The Chargers were backed up in their own end. Lance attempted to rip an out route to the left sideline. Ramsey jumped it and should have intercepted the pass. Although it shows up in the box score as an incompletion, it was another bad decision and dangerous throw from Lance.

Coach Jim Harbaugh said earlier this week he wanted to give a half each to Lance and DJ Uiagalelei. Lance started the second half after his first half ended with the interception. He played one series, leading the Chargers on a field goal drive.

The Chargers built a convincing lead in the second half. Uiagalelei did not receive nearly as many opportunities as Lance did in the passing game. Uiagalelei finished 6-for-9 passing for 120 yards, one touchdown and, importantly, no turnovers. He guided the Chargers to an easy win, partly thanks to an impressive second-half performance from the defense. Uiagalelei showed off his ability to throw on the run on multiple occasions, including a bootleg touchdown pass to rookie receiver Devonte Ross.

Lance backed up Justin Herbert in 2025, but Uiagalelei is pushing him for that role this season. This is officially a real competition.

2. Second-year running back Amar Johnson was the star of the game for the Chargers. He finished with 85 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns. Johnson set up the Chargers’ third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter with a 55-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline. That throw came from Uiagalelei.

Johnson spent last season on the Chargers’ practice squad. He saw action in two games while the Chargers were dealing with a slew of injuries at running back.

Johnson will have a tough time earning a spot on the 53-man roster, with Omarion Hampton, Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal firmly entrenched on the depth chart, but there are three running backs fighting for 2026 practice squad spots among Johnson, Jaret Patterson and rookie Greg Desrosiers.

Johnson is leading that group after this performance. Desrosiers showed some explosion as a runner Thursday night, and he made a special teams tackle on punt coverage. Patterson averaged 5.0 yards per carry on five carries.

3. New defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary had a tremendous showing in his first NFL game as a play caller. The Chargers gave up some yardage on the ground, but their pass defense was excellent against a pretty established backup in Davis Mills. The Texans totaled just 105 passing yards. They averaged 4.8 yards per attempt.

Sound familiar? It should. This was the DNA of Jesse Minter’s Chargers defenses. Playing with fewer bodies in the box leads to some disadvantageous looks in run defense, but it allows the defense to play suffocating coverage. O’Leary’s unit executed the vision effectively in Houston.

This defense will not be exactly the same, however. We wondered through the offseason what dials O’Leary might twist one way or the other to put his own stamp on the scheme. We got an initial answer Thursday night: O’Leary turned up the heat with his blitzes.

The Chargers did not blitz frequently under Minter. Last season, they ranked 29th in blitz rate at 11.7 percent, according to TruMedia. Against the Texans, O’Leary blitzed on six of 28 defensive snaps in the first half, or over 20 percent. He blitzed less in the second half as the Chargers built their big lead, but even then, O’Leary produced one of the turning points of the game when he brought defensive back Myles Purchase on a blitz that resulted in a lost fumble from Mills.

Linebacker Lander Barton recovered. The Chargers scored five plays later to put the game away.

A more aggressive blitzing approach could be one of the key elements that differentiates O’Leary from Minter.

Myles Purchase delivered one of the game-altering plays when he came on a blitz to force a fumble. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)

4. Rookie offensive lineman Jake Slaughter started Thursday’s game at center. He shifted to left guard for the start of the second quarter, when the Chargers made substitutions along the front. Slaughter stayed at left guard into the second half.

Slaughter’s move to left guard coincided with the best stretch from the Chargers offensive line in the game. Travis Burke was a left tackle, Jacob Spomer was at center, Trevor Penning was at right guard, and Branson Taylor was a right tackle. Taylor started the game at left guard.

The Chargers drove 67 yards on eight plays for a touchdown. They went the final 39 yards of the drive on six straight runs. The offensive line was creating consistent movement.

Overall, Slaughter looked comfortable at left guard. We’ll need to dig into the film for a more comprehensive look at his performance.

Of note, Penning played only at right guard in this game, further evidence he has fallen out of the starting left guard battle. Kayode Awosika started the game at right guard and played there for the first two series.

5. The Chargers have five interior defensive linemen who are locks to make the 53-man: Teair Tart, Dalvin Tomlinson, Jamaree Caldwell, Justin Eboigbe and rookie Nick Barrett. Fitting a sixth into the roster will be difficult. But TeRah Edwards, who spent last season on the Chargers practice squad, is making a case.

Edwards blew up a fourth-down sneak from Texans quarterback Graham Mertz late in the second quarter for one of two turnovers on downs for the Chargers. Edwards led all defensive linemen with four tackles in run defense.

6. An important attribute to look for in young cornerbacks is how they respond to down moments. Failure is inevitable at the position. Resolve is essential to be successful at this level. Rookie cornerback Avery Smith passed that test Thursday night.

Smith got beat in a one-on-one situation for the game’s opening touchdown. On the next series, Smith came back with a third-down pass breakup. In the fourth quarter, Smith shot through a gap and stuffed a fourth-down run for a turnover on downs. Smith played the best of the young corners fighting for that fifth corner spot on the depth chart behind Donte Jackson, Cam Hart, Tarheeb Still and Deane Leonard.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Fernando Mendoza did much to impress in his preseason debut. The rookie quarterback played a clean game in the team’s 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Mendoza led the Raiders down the field on his second possession, finishing the drive with his first professional touchdown (albeit in exhibition action), connecting with receiver Jack Bech in the end zone for a six-yard score. He then completed four straight passes on his final drive to push the Raiders into the red zone before narrowly missing receiver Deven Thompkins for another TD.

“I see an ascending player,” head coach Klint Kubiak said of Mendoza postgame. “We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

Mendoza finished 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown. His connection with fellow rookie Malik Benson — off a play-action dropback and through three defenders — displayed the arm talent necessary for NFL throws and showed his ability to play from under center. Finding poise to throw a touchdown a few plays after running into a sack also showed the resiliency that’s needed to play the position at this level.

“He did a great job,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He moved the football, he scored points, gave us a chance to score points and operated well.”

Mendoza, however, chose not to relish in his highlights.

“Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today,” Mendoza said. “But it’s a growing experience. I feel like we’re all growing and it helped me show that I need to grow a lot.”

The top pick of April’s NFL Draft has brought nothing but positive energy since arriving in Las Vegas. But at the end of an evening that served, in part, as a celebration of the franchise’s new era, he chose to focus on his faults.

Subbing in after Cousins led the starters on a touchdown drive, Mendoza said he felt sped up on his first snaps. He extended his first possession with a third-down completion to Bech on the sideline, but threw rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. into a hard-hitting pass breakup a few plays later. As the Raiders were forced to punt, Mendoza said he needed to “come back to the sidelines and learn from my mistakes.”

He was pleased with his touchdown drive; he gave credit to Washington for setting the score up with a 53-yard breakaway run. He added that Bech made a great catch and the offensive line made great blocks to allow for the third-and-goal touchdown. Mendoza was more interested in talking about his missed reads on his third drive — a three-and-out that concluded with a pair of incompletions — than his first professional touchdown pass. And there was no mention of his string of completions on his final drive, just the missed connection with Thompkins.

The rookie recapped his mistakes while being his jovial self. He joked about players being faster than he thought at the NFL level, preventing him from bending a corner on a scramble. He obliged to take reporters through his gameday routine, detailing his first drive to the stadium and his stretching procedure. But undertones of dissatisfaction carried through his first postgame press conference.

Mendoza’s demanding assessment of his play may stem from what he saw before him. The rookie watched as the veteran Cousins diced up the Cardinals defense on his lone drive, completing five of his six passes for 50 yards, including a 13-yard score to tight end Michael Mayer. Mendoza praised Cousins’ precision.

“Kirk has this time and anticipation. It’s like boom, boom, boom,” Mendoza said. “That’s an area I have to grow in.”

The Raiders have emphasized their quarterback competition is symbiotic, with Cousins and Mendoza working with each other, not against each other. Still, comparison is only natural. Mendoza has seen Cousins compete throughout camp, but watching the Cousins’ command of Kubiak’s offense in-game was more of an awakening of where he stands. Cousins’ performance also made the head coach reaffirm the veteran remains the favorite to start Week 1.

“It’s his job to lose,” Kubiak said of Cousins.

The Raiders’ preference to play Cousins early could ease the pressure on Mendoza; the rookie instead seems to be putting more pressure on himself to meet the veteran’s standard.

Mendoza said that, on Wednesday night, minority owner Tom Brady addressed the team ahead of the preseason game, offering a message to those playing their first NFL snaps.

“He said, ‘No matter how good of a high school or college player you were, the NFL’s a different level,’” Mendoza said. “I felt that tonight, and I have a lot to grow from.”

Historically, the Edmonton Oilers get out of the gate slowly, like the sleepy Chihuahua in the famous GIF. The most famous recent example cost coach Jay Woodcroft his job. In 2023-24, the year Edmonton made the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 18 years, Woodcroft’s crew began the year 3-9-1, leading then-general manager Ken Holland to fire him. Kris Knoblauch replaced Woodcroft, and the team romped to Game 7 of the final against the Florida Panthers.

Will this season see a slow start? There are reasons to be concerned, and the solutions could rock the team in the short term.

The Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl deployment

At his introductory media availability, Babcock was frank about what will happen on the ice in Edmonton. He talked about his conversation with the team’s leadership group (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman) and told the media, “I was very clear to them: unless you’re 100 percent all in on Mike Babcock, I have no interest in being the coach.” There’s not much room for misunderstanding with that starting point.

Babcock also said, “I went through in detail the changes that would have to be made for us to have success when it mattered,” and that will mean some adjustment for the players.

The biggest adjustment this fall? Some fans will say McDavid. He is an exceptional outscorer, with a massive goal percentage edge at five-on-five. Those who criticize the captain for not backchecking or missing assignments overlook the enormous advantage he represents every shift.

McDavid exceeded a 60 percent goal share in 2016-17 and 2023-24, an outstanding total. In addition, his line scored 4.38 goals per 60 in 2023-24, the highest in McDavid’s career via Natural Stat Trick. His most common linemates were Zach Hyman (919 minutes) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (532 minutes). When McDavid plays with elite talent, the top line goes supernova, giving Edmonton a five-on-five line with outscoring results normally expected from a power play.

Draisaitl and McDavid have delivered magic for years together. Babcock is looking for an extreme edge with the idea of placing McDavid and Draisaitl together. However, the two men were not as productive together in 2025-26.

All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick

If the chemistry is there, and one would be wise to bet on it, Babcock might plan to run Nugent-Hopkins as the second-line centre. That said, the numbers last season were poor with Nugent-Hopkins in that role. His line had a 37 percent goal share and scored 1.6 goals per 60 when playing away from McDavid and Draisaitl.

Many fans think Babcock will fade the idea of McDavid-Draisaitl together, but every coach since Todd McLellan has found it impossible to resist. Though it’s possible, though unlikely, that Nugent-Hopkins will enjoy a renaissance on the second line, the worry is Babcock might take an extended period to conclude the team is without an above-average second-line centre if the two big talents play together. That could cost some early-season games. If that scenario becomes reality, Babcock would probably agitate for an upgrade, engaging general manager Stan Bowman to acquire a veteran second-line centre.

Should fans worry about early-season losses because of Babcock’s lack of experience in this area? The team would indeed be vulnerable if McDavid-Draisaitl play too much on the same line and Nugent-Hopkins continues to erode as a centre facing top-level opposition. A slow start is more likely if Babcock pursues the plan vigorously without regard to what happens when McDavid-Draisaitl are at rest five-on-five.

Evaluating Josh Brown

Bob Stauffer suggested on “Oilers Now” earlier this summer that rugged defenceman Josh Brown will get the chance to make the big club, despite real concerns about his ability in coverage. In his last two full NHL seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24, with the Arizona Coyotes), Brown posted a 45 percent goal share (42 percent expected) in 1,493 minutes. When he was off the ice, the rest of the Coyotes defencemen performed at a higher level with a 48 percent real and expected goal share, via Natural Stat Trick.

The numbers suggest adding Brown and his rugged edge will make the team less efficient defensively. It’s an idea brought to life via a previous professional relationship and is unlikely to succeed.

Should fans be worried? In this case, likely not. Brown’s making the team as one of the Oilers’ top seven defencemen would mean losing a productive NHL player on waivers. A good guess has the defensive group for opening night as Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, Connor Murphy, Ryan Shea, Ty Emberson and Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Brown will get a chance to compete, but an organization already poised to risk Spencer Stastney and Alec Regula to waivers is extremely unlikely to further cut into an established NHL defensive crew.

Weighing inexperience

Fans are curious about Ike Howard’s role on the big team this season. Many wonder whether the club can afford to have two smaller wingers with little experience, Howard and Matt Savoie, playing big minutes every night. Some believe the team would be better off cashing Howard for a veteran forward.

In this case, however, Howard represents a wise investment. Young players make mistakes, and those errors sometimes cost games. However, the alternative is stagnation and watching the roster grow old. Bowman liked Howard enough to trade for him, and Howard is a strong bet to emerge as a 20-goal scorer in the near future. Time for the Oilers to give him a full audition in 2026-27.

Bottom line

Two of these issues are easy calls. Brown’s resume doesn’t suggest he will be able to make the grade this fall, so stating he’ll get a chance to make the team costs nothing. If Brown arrives at camp and impresses, the club will send him out and keep his name in mind for recall. Howard is a smart bet to make the team, but even if he doesn’t, the club would be risking a major asset by waiting another year for him to play 50-plus games as an NHL regular. His time is now.

The plot thickens with McDavid-Draisaitl on the top line and Nugent-Hopkins as second-line centre. Babcock hasn’t coached in a decade, and his view of Nugent-Hopkins might not include dozens of recent viewings while the veteran is playing centre. Babcock and his staff could run full steam ahead with Nugent-Hopkins playing tough opponents on an Edmonton second line.

If the coach gets stubborn, and coaches do get stubborn, the team could get outscored badly on the second line. A 64 percent goal share on the top line is exceptional, but a team can’t give it all back when the second unit jumps over the boards. In this small sliver of roster minutiae, Oilers fans might know something Babcock has yet to discover for himself, which could affect the early portion of the season negatively.