No. 9: Josh Kendall – The Athletic (Last Week: No. 17)

Justin Herbert passed for 144 yards. J.K. Dobbins rushed for 135 (on 10 carries). Welcome back to the NFL, Jim Harbaugh! His return to the NFL is everything we thought it would be. Dobbins, a second-round pick by the Ravens in 2020, has a chance to be one of this year’s breakout stars. He has played in just 24 games in four years because of injury, but if he stays healthy, Harbaugh will make sure he gets plenty of carries.

No. 10: Vinnie Iyer – Sporting News (Last Week: No. 12)

The Chargers had a slow start before bolting past the Raiders for Jim Harbaugh’s debut victory. Not surprisingly, they looked physically and mentally tougher in using the defense and running game to pull away vs. the Raiders.

No. 11: Pete Prisco – CBS Sports (Last Week: No. 18)

Jim Harbaugh won his opener, but it wasn’t pretty. Then again, winning ugly and tough is the Harbaugh way.

No. 12: Eric Edholm – NFL.com (Last Week: No. 13)

Ye of little faith, chiding me on social media for my unbridled belief in Jim Harbaugh and the new-blood Chargers! Get used to this kind of final score — 22-10 — because I think this is how the Chargers are going to try to (and likely have to) win games this season. The 10 part — as in the work the defense did — is a nice change of pace in Chargers country after last season, although the Raiders and their lackluster offense were part of that equation. There’s still some tidying needed in the Bolts’ secondary, and I fear the lack of weapons for Justin Herbert, but the encouraging debut of J.K. Dobbins and a hard-earned win made for a solid launching pad for the Harbaugh era.