Chargers at Carolina Panthers: Who has the edge?

CHARGERS (1-0) at PANTHERS (0-1)

When: Sunday, 10 a.m.

Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte

TV/radio: CBS (Ch. 2); Paramount+/98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)

Line: Chargers by 4½

Notable injury designations

Chargers: DOUBTFUL: S Alohi Gilman (knee). QUESTIONABLE: OLB Joey Bosa (back), RB Hassan Haskins (toe), WR Joshua Palmer (knee), CB Ja’Sir Taylor (fibula)

Panthers: QUESTIONABLE: RB Raheem Blackshear (personal), P Johnny Hekker (back), G Damien Lewis (groin), T Taylor Moton (back/knee), TE Tommy Tremble (hamstring/back)

What’s at stake: A victory over the Panthers would give the Chargers their best start to a season in more than a decade. The Chargers haven’t started the season with a 2-0 record since 2012. That didn’t bode well for them since they ended with a 7-9 mark and missed the playoffs. Last season, the Chargers started 0-2 en route to a 5-12 record. They began this season with a 22-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Jim Harbaugh’s debut as their coach. The Panthers started with a 47-10 loss to the Saints in New Orleans, which didn’t exactly make anyone forget their 2-15 mark from last season.

Who’s better: The Chargers were the better team against the Raiders and it showed in the second half when they put away Las Vegas with a fourth-quarter flourish. On paper, at least, the Panthers aren’t as good as the Raiders. They do have a quarterback with greater potential in former Mater Dei High and Alabama star Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft who threw for more than 3,000 yards as a rookie. Like his teammates, he had a rough start to 2024, completing only 13 of 30 passes for 161 yards and zero touchdowns. He was intercepted twice, including on his first throw of the game.

Matchup to watch: Justin Herbert was steady if unspectacular against the Raiders’ top-notch defensive front, which included the menacing Maxx Crosby. Herbert was sacked only once, but faced plenty of pressure, especially in the first half. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown, a game-sealing, 10-yard toss to rookie Ladd McConkey in the fourth quarter. So, can Herbert up his production against a Panthers defense that gave up 47 points to the Saints last week? Can he do more damage with medium- and deep-route completions than he did against the Raiders? His longest completion went for a relatively modest 27 yards, after all.

Chargers win if: The lazy prediction is that the Chargers will win handily if their bus arrives on time at the stadium, they manage to put two or three scoring drives together and play with a modicum of effort on defense. The Chargers certainly didn’t look at the Panthers as if they would be a pushover. It is the NFL, after all, and that business about any given Sunday isn’t just talk.

Fantasy sleeper(s): J.K. Dobbins rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown on only 10 carries last week, splitting the duties with Gus Edwards, who had 26 yards on 11 carries. Dobbins had a couple of long runs, including one of 61 yards that he nearly broke for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Look for either Dobbins or Edwards to punish the Panthers, who gave up 180 yards rushing to the Saints last week and also lost their best run stopper (Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown) with a season-ending knee injury.

Prediction: Given what we saw from Harbaugh in the opener, it’s hard to imagine the Chargers putting a beatdown on any opponent. But if they grind it out the way they did against the Raiders, they certainly have a good chance to win. Chargers 24, Panthers 14.