HOUSTON — Amar Johnson saw a flicker of playing time at running back for the Chargers last season.
Thursday, he made a case for a bit more.
Johnson scored two touchdowns in a preseason opener at Houston, and turned a short pass into a 55-yard gain.
It’s easy to put too much stock in a preseason performance, seeing as most starters are watching from the sidelines, but Johnson made the most of his opportunity in a 27-7 victory over the Texans.
He scored on a seven-yard touchdown run in the first half, and from a yard out in the second. The short touchdown was set up by his quick catch and dash down the sideline, when he was caught from behind just before he could cross the goal line.
The Chargers, who used a first-round pick on running back Omarion Hampton last year, have not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Melvin Gordon in 2017.
Hampton, who like most starters didn’t play Thursday, showed flashes of promise last season but also battled injuries.
Running backs Jaret Patterson and Greg Desrosiers Jr. also turned in solid performances for the Chargers.
Passing grades
There’s some jostling over the backup quarterback job to Justin Herbert, featuring a replay of last summer’s competition between Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei.
“Both have really acquitted themselves well, and the next piece is in the games and how they play,” coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters this week. “That’s something we’ll all see. I imagine, from what I’ve seen in practice, it’s going to be pretty close. They’re both good.”
Lance got the start and played deep into the third quarter, completing 12 of 20 passes for 164 yards with an interception. He ran for 27 yards in three carries.
Uiagalelei, who played at St. John Bosco, entered with three minutes to play in the third quarter and complete six of nine passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Front and center
Around this time last year, the Chargers were reeling along the offensive line, having lost left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury. Early in the season, they lost bookend tackle Joe Alt. In short, the offensive line was a mess.
Now, those players are back, and it’s all about making smaller tweaks along a solid line. The question mark is at left guard, with five candidates in the mix: Kayode Awosika, Branson Taylor, Jake Slaughter, Trey Pipkins III and Trevor Penning.
Slaughter, a rookie second-round pick, started at center Thursday and moved to left guard and appeared to play well. That he can play center in addition to guard is particularly valuable, as he can be reliable depth to starting center Tyler Biadasz.
Dropportunity
KeAndre Lambert-Smith had four of the Chargers’ nine receptions in the first half, but a fifth would have been really impressive. He got a two-step lead on rookie corner Collin Wright on a long pass from Trey Lance, yet couldn’t cash in. Wright mistimed his jump and the ball hit Lambert-Smith square in the hands before falling to the turf. The top three receiver spots are locked down by Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Tre’ Harris, but there’s room for one and maybe two more wideouts. A rookie to watch is the speedy Brenen Thompson, who doubles as a receiver and returner.
Double vanilla
Teams are always circumspect about doing anything too exotic during the preseason, lest they give regular-season opponents something to study. That goes double this season for the Chargers, seeing as all three of their preseason opponents — Houston, San Francisco and the Rams — will face them in the regular season. It’s a bit of a balancing act, though, because it’s got to be tempting to get a look at the offense of McDaniel outside the structure of a practice.
Regardless, look for the Chargers to be bland, bland, bland as they evaluate the back end of their roster and decide who to keep and who to cut.
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