Chargers' J.K. Dobbins Follows Through on Promise In Dominant Performance Against Panthers

Dobbins set a Chargers' franchise milestone Sunday.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Friday, Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins proclaimed that he intended to take his long runs to the house when he next got the chance.

"If I get those long runs again, I'm going to take it to the crib," Dobbins told reporters Friday.

Dobbins followed through on his words. During the second quarter of Sunday's Week 2 game at the Carolina Panthers, Dobbins took a 43-yard run down the sideline and flipped into the end zone. The run gave the Chargers their third touchdown of the day and a 20-0 lead over the Panthers as the Chargers seek a 2-0 start to the season.

The statement Friday came after Dobbins' electric Week 1 performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. In his Chargers debut and first game back from a torn Achilles that caused him to miss nearly the entire 2023 season, Dobbins carried the ball 10 times for 135 yards and a touchdown, at an average of 13.5 yards per carry.

Despite a statistically dominant game on the ground, Dobbins lamented that he still had room to improve. Dobbins had long carries of 46 yards and 61 yards against the Raiders but was unable to take those carries in for the touchdown, even when he had originally gotten past the Raiders' defenders. Instead, the Raiders were able to catch up to Dobbins, whose speed for those long runs is still coming back.

"The first 40 yards I was like, 'Oh, bye bye.' Because I was pulling away from them," Dobbins said after the win over the Raiders, via Chargers.com's Omar Navorro. "Then after that, I was like, 'Oh [snap].' I got heavy. I was like alright let me just cover the ball then I got tackled."

Dobbins finished the game against the Panthers with 17 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown, an average of 7.7 yards per carry. This was Dobbins' second consecutive game with over 130 yards on the ground, making him the first player in Chargers' history to rush for over 100 yards in the first two games of the season. No Charger has rushed for 100 yards in consecutive games since LaDanian Tomlinson.

"I told you I wasn't going to get caught anymore. I didn't, I've been doing my sprints," Dobbins told CBS Sports' Amanda Balionis after the win over the Panthers.

JK DOBBINS IS BACK

Even Bud Dupree confirmed it during a postgame chat with @Amanda_Balionis 😂 | @chargers pic.twitter.com/ff8s8qtRUQ

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 15, 2024

Even with the win, Dobbins maintains that he is not satisfied, and has room to improve.

"Nah, I'm onto the next week already," Dobbins told Balionis.

The Chargers will remain on the East Coast before their Week 3 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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