EL SEGUNDO — It hasn’t been all bad. Really, it hasn’t.
Amid the injuries to key offensive linemen and less-than-stellar play that’s resulted in a record number of sacks of Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert this season, there has been one constant, one unmovable force in a turbulent sea, someone who has been reliable week after week.
Not only has left guard Zion Johnson played in each of the Chargers’ 16 games this season, he has also played every last one of their offensive snaps. He literally hasn’t taken a play off. He hasn’t needed a break, although surely he could have used one during this unpredictable season.
Johnson is the only one, too. No other Charger has played every snap. Season-ending injuries to top tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, plus nagging ailments suffered by several other key players on the offensive line, have resulted in opponents sacking Herbert 54 times, the most in his career.
“Really at a high level, every week, consistently,” Coach Jim Harbaugh said of Johnson’s standout play. “He’s one of my favorites on the team. Nobody I love more than Zion. Better every day. All the things that stand out. Thirty minutes before practice, he’s over on the goal line getting his stretch.”
Harbaugh went on to describe Johnson’s pre-practice routine in great detail.
Not only has it kept Johnson healthy in the wake of injuries to other linemen, but it’s served to keep him at the top of his game. So much so that he’s become a role model for rookie guard Branson Taylor, who was the Chargers’ sixth-round draft pick from the University of Pittsburgh in April.
At one point earlier this year, Harbaugh recalled telling Taylor, “Hey, Branson, piece of advice, just don’t let that guy out of your sight, don’t let Zion Johnson leave your sight. I don’t know what other guys are doing, but whatever he’s doing, in the meeting room setting, in the training room and pre-practice and after practice … just get right there in his hip pocket.”
Soon enough, Harbaugh noticed that Johnson wasn’t the last one to leave the meeting room or the training room and he wasn’t the first one on the practice field or the last one to leave it. Taylor was there with him, shadowing him as he went about his business each day and every day.
Taylor has mostly spent this season on the Chargers’ practice squad, largely because Johnson hasn’t yielded a single snap to a teammate. He’s also improved his play this season, his fourth since the Chargers drafted him 17th overall in the first round in 2022 out of Boston College.
“Markedly,” Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said of Johnson’s growth as a player this season. “I really feel like Zion has taken some strides. Some things that he has needed to work on, I feel like he’s really worked on and put them behind him, which is a great thing.
“There’s always room for improvement, but if you want to talk about a guy who shows up every single day with an incredible attitude, with great energy, every drill, running back and forth between every drill, He just exudes energy and he’s just like the Energizer Bunny. He just goes, goes, goes, goes, goes, works, works, works, works, works. I think you’re seeing all that devotion on his part pay off.
“I feel like he’s playing his best football right now in his career.”
BACK TO BASICS
Ryan Ficken, the Chargers’ special teams coordinator, wasn’t pleased by a missed field goal, a missed extra point and two shanked punts during the Chargers’ 20-16 loss Sunday to the Houston Texans. So, according to Ficken, the Chargers stressed fundamentals this week.
“Let’s get back to the (proper) technique and the fundamentals,” Ficken said of his message to all the special teams players, but especially to kicker Cameron Dicker and punter JK Scott. “Let’s get back and do a reset and get back to the fundamentals. We don’t want to have a snowball effect.”
Dicker has converted 37 of 40 field-goal attempts and 34 of 35 extra points this season. Overall, Dicker has made 128 of 137 of his attempts for a career 93.4% success rate, the highest in NFL history among those with 100 or more tries. Scott has averaged 47.5 yards per punt this season, a career high.
INJURY REPORT
Running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) and cornerback Nikko Reed (hamstring) were ruled out of the Chargers’ game Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Safety Elijah Molden (hamstring) and left tackle Jamaree Salyer (hamstring) were listed as doubtful to play in the regular-season finale.
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