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Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 2 winner: Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins.
After the Chargers’ 26-3 rout of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, general manager Joe Hortiz spoke to running back J.K. Dobbins in the celebratory postgame locker room. The GM’s message: “No more flips.”
Dobbins did one on his 43-yard touchdown run that pushed L.A.’s lead to 13-0 in the second quarter. He somersaulted into the end zone.
As the veteran tailback explains it, “it just happened.” He didn’t stick the landing, though.
“I didn’t,” a smiling Dobbins acknowledged to reporters, “but it’s exciting.”
The same could be said about his overall performance. He had 17 carries for 131 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and the score in the Chargers’ win, pushing the team to 2-0. Dobbins became the first player in franchise history to rush for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games to start a season (he had 135 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts in the Chargers’ season-opening victory over the Las Vegas Raiders).
Dobbins currently leads the NFL with 266 rushing yards on 9.9 yards per carry.
“He’s a guy that speaks in the locker room and everybody respects him,” quarterback Justin Herbert said Sunday. “We’re not surprised by his success. We knew how special he was.”
Dobbins signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Chargers in free agency after an injury-riddled start to his career with the Baltimore Ravens, who drafted him in the second round in 2020.
After a promising rookie season, when he had 134 carries for 805 yards in 15 games, he missed 2021 due to a torn ACL. He missed another nine games in 2022 (two recovering from the ACL injury, another seven due to another knee issue). Then he missed 16 games last season after tearing his Achilles in Week 1. A former Ohio State star, Dobbins missed 43 of 67 regular-season games during his stint in Baltimore.
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/whats-fueling-rb-j-k-dobbins-historic-start-chargers
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 20:20:10
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