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After suffering what many a fan thought was a season-ending injury back in November when he suffered an MCL sprain against his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, JK Dobbins shocked the football world when, ahead of Week 17, he was activated off of IR and returned to the field for the Los Angeles Chargers.
A shocking development? Most certainly, but his impact on the game wasn't, as the pride of Ohio State University ran the ball 19 times for 76 yards and a touchdown in his big return. While Dobbins' long was only 13 yards, he still averaged 4.0 yards per carry in a game headlined by Ladd McConkey's play and his teammates and coaches took note.
Talking to reporters after the game, Jim Harbaugh celebrated Dobbins for playing a big role in LA's win 40-7 win over the New England Patriots.
“Big. Really big. And all the backs. I mean, Hassan was making big plays for us. Kimani had big runs. But it was great. The backs, the way the backs are playing right now, very rarely are they getting less – they're never getting less than what the play is blocked for, and they're getting more than what the play is blocked for,” Harbaugh told Chargers reporters.
“Some big first down pickups in the run game as well. JK had a big one on third down. Hassan had a big one on third down. I think maybe JK had another or Kimani got one as well. Yeah, love the way our backs are running and holding on to the football. They've done a great job. Kyle McDonald has done a tremendous job with ball security. So, yeah, just keep tightening up, find out – there's things that we can improve, and we'll go about attacking those as well.”
Does Dobbins deserve some credit for his efforts? Yes, so much so that his teammates were willing to talk about it, too, with his quarterback letting everyone know he was excited to get the OSU product back in the backfield.
Justin Herbert is excited to play with JK Dobbins again, too
Asked during his own media time about Dobbins' play, Herbert noted just how nice it is to get his lead back onto the field once more, as it looked testy there for a minute.
“Yeah, huge. It's so tough to lose a guy like that for a couple of weeks, but I thought we did a great job of holding it down while he was gone. He came back and brings so much energy and so much to our run game,” Herbert told reporters. “He's great out of the backfield and the pass game too. I think one of the most underappreciated aspects of this game is his protection. He does such a great job on third downs, picking up blitzes. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he's really well coached. It's great to have a guy like that back.”
While the Chargers weren't completely one-dimensional with Dobbins away from the team, getting him back is unquestionably a positive for LA heading into their playoff run. If Los Angeles goes on an extended run in early 2025, it's safe to say Dobbins will be playing a big part in that effort.
