Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack

The Los Angeles Chargers expected one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL when they traded for outside linebacker Khalil Mack to partner with defensive end Joey Bosa.

That dynamic duo never really got going, though. Bosa tore his groin in Week Three and didn’t return until the last two weeks of the regular season.

Mack, for his part, said we never got close to seeing what the two could do together on the field.

“Not even close,” Mack said to assembled media on Monday, via Pro Football Talk. “I think that it was three games in last year. Week Three. Just can’t wait to get out there with this guy. Not talk too much, but get to work.”

Chargers fans will hope the extended time on the field together will lead to a playoff berth. Mack noted that he and Bosa are using the 27-0 lead that the team blew to the Jaguars in the last game of the season as “fuel” for the “fire to get better.”

“It’s one of those things,” Mack said. “Me and Joey were talking about it, it was like a bad dream, like a nightmare. Waking up from it and just putting in the work to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

The Chargers open their 2023 season with a home contest against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 10th.

[Pro Football Talk; photo from Los Angeles Chargers on YouTube]