EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Poona Ford knew all he needed was a chance.
What he did not know is where it would come from — or if it would arrive at all.
Ford had just endured what he described as a “real frustrating” 2023 season with the Buffalo Bills. After five quality years with the Seattle Seahawks, Ford signed a one-year deal with Buffalo in free agency. He ended up out of the defensive line rotation.
Ford was a healthy scratch for three straight games starting in Week 3. By Week 6, he was back on the field because of injuries. But in early November, the Bills signed Linval Joseph off the street, and Ford was back to the bench. He was inactive for six straight games after the Joseph signing. In total, Ford was a healthy scratch for nine of the Bills’ 17 games.
“After a while, I was just like, f— it,” Ford said. “It is what it is at this point.”
Ford looked ahead into an uncertain future. In March, the opportunity arrived. The Los Angeles Chargers called. They were led by a new regime of coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz. This was not just a shot to make a roster. This was a shot to start. This was a shot to get the reps he needed to reestablish himself on the NFL stage.
“Having somebody that believes in your abilities,” Ford said, “it makes you want to give them everything you got.”
In 11 games so far this season, Ford has repaid Harbaugh and Hortiz by being one of the most impactful free agent signings in the league. Ford signed for a veteran minimum base salary. He has vastly outperformed his contract. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has led a dramatic turnaround with his unit. The Chargers have the best scoring defense in football. Ford’s performance, both as a run defender and pass rusher, has been instrumental in the Chargers’ defensive resurgence.
“I took it and ran with it,” Ford said.
Ford has been a stout and disruptive presence on the interior since the very first game of the season, a 22-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
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That game was locked in a scoreless tie late in the first quarter when the Raiders faced a fourth-and-1 from their 41-yard line. Las Vegas opted to test the middle of the Chargers’ defensive line. That proved to be a mistake, thanks to Ford.
As quarterback Gardner Minshew II took the shotgun snap and handed to running back Zamir White, Ford quickly shifted to his right. He then extended into the chest of center Andre James and occupied the “A” gap between James and left guard Cody Whitehair.
Ford then powered forward to take the lead blocker, tight end Michael Mayer. And Ford was strong enough to maintain his leverage on James.
He gave up no ground to Mayer.
And Ford smothered White for a 1-yard loss.
Turnover on downs. The Chargers took over in Las Vegas territory. Four plays later, they kicked a field goal for their first points of the Harbaugh era.
“There’s a level of consistency and physicality,” defensive line coach Mike Elston said of Ford. “He raises everybody’s game around him.”
Ford’s run defending continued to be a spark for the Chargers defense.
This was a second-down run stuff on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Najee Harris in the first quarter in Week 3. Ford bench-pressed right tackle Broderick Jones in a one-on-one matchup, shed the block and then stone-walled a Harris cutback after a 1-yard gain.
Ford’s presence in the run front has allowed Minter to devote more resources to the back end.
The Chargers play with more light boxes than any defense in the league. They have aligned with six or fewer defenders in the box on more than 80 percent of their plays, according to TruMedia. Despite this, the Chargers have been a good run defense. Through 11 weeks, they ranked fourth in defensive EPA per play against designed rushes, according to TruMedia.
“He’s been really the anchor for us in the middle of the defense,” Minter said. “He’s allowed us to do different things in our coverage because of our ability to stop the run at times with less people. He’s certainly a big, big piece of that.”
Here is an example from late in the third quarter of the Chargers’ Week 6 win at the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos came out in 11 personnel, a three-receiver package. The Chargers matched with five defensive backs in their big nickel package.
That left the Chargers with six defenders in the box.
Ford aligned over left guard Ben Powers. As quarterback Bo Nix took the snap and handed off to running Jaleel McLaughlin, Powers tried to drive Ford laterally.
Ford was patient, waiting for his opportunity. Then he attacked and once again got extension.
As McLaughlin tried to hit the hole, Ford used that extension to shed Powers.
And he got the solo tackle for no gain.
Ford was already outperforming his contract early in the year with his play in run defense. What has turned this into a truly profound season — and one that should put him firmly in the Pro Bowl conversation — is how he has impacted the game as a pass rusher in recent weeks.
Ford has a sack in three of the past four games. He has tied his career high in sacks on the season.
The counting stats have come during this four-game winning streak. But Ford was showing signs of his pass-rush capability earlier in the season.
Late in the first half of the Broncos game, Ford took likely points off the board by drawing a hold. The penalty wiped out a 46-yard completion from Nix to receiver Courtland Sutton that would have moved Denver into field goal range.
Ford beat right guard Quinn Meinerz on the play.
The following week at the Arizona Cardinals, Ford saved a touchdown on a coverage breakdown in the Chargers’ secondary.
Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was wide open after winning on a double move.
Quarterback Kyler Murray, though, was knocked off his spot by a bull-rush pressure from Ford. And Murray could not get his eyes downfield in time to find Harrison.
The sacks were going to come. That was evident because of how Ford was rushing on a snap-to-snap basis.
He has won convincingly and in varied ways on his sacks. He has won with agility. He was won with speed. And he has won with power.
“For a guy that’s built like a nose tackle, he’s really twitchy,” Minter said. “He’s fast, quick off the ball, uses his hands really well.”
No sack was more impressive than this spin move against the New Orleans Saints in Week 8.
“He’s really hungry to kind of prove himself as the caliber of player that he kind of knows he is and we think he is,” Minter said. “He’s doing that so far.”
Ford agreed that he arrived in L.A. with a certain edge, because of “how they tried to do me” in Buffalo.
However, when asked what kind of statement he thinks he’s made this year, Ford looked up from his seat at his locker with a puzzled expression.
“Statement?” he replied. “It’s not a statement to me, to be honest.”
Why not?
“Because I’m not surprised,” Ford said. “I’ve been doing this s—. That’s about it.”
He just needed the chance to play.
The Chargers saw the upside. They are reaping the benefits.
“He’s the kind of player that does,” Harbaugh said. “It’s all what he’s doing, whether that’s in the meeting environment, the training environment, the practice environment, game environment. He’s all about his business and doing his job at a really high level.”
(Top photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images; screenshots via NFL+)
