CHARLOTTE— Mike Jackson still remembers the first time he played Georgia Tech.

"The old Georgia Tech," he quickly clarified.

Ok, so yes, the pre-Geoff Collins and now Brent Key Georgia Tech had a different identity than the current iteration, because everything pre-2019 was predicated on one thing: running the ball down an opponent's throat via the triple option.

"If it's 50 snaps, you got to get 45 runs and five passes," the Miami Hurricane alum recalled.

It was enough that when Jackson went to dinner that night, he felt every tackle.

"I remember trying to sit down at the table at Buffalo Wild Wings, and it hurt to sit down."

The matchup had a profound impact though on the current Carolina Panthers corner. Now in his sixth season, he still thinks about it whenever he's about to face a bruising offense.

The Los Angeles Chargers, who will be in Charlotte this weekend, will be the next test Jackson, and this entire Panthers defense, faces. It's a run game will try to lull the defenders to sleep, as evidenced by their performance versus the Raiders on Sunday.

"It never really lulls me to sleep because they're going to come down hill," Jackson countered. "I don't really get lulled to sleep just based off of playing Tech back in college."

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh's unit will try to sing a lullaby though. Against the Raiders, the Los Angeles run game averaged 2.2 yards per rush. In the second half, they averaged 8.67, aided largely by two explosive plays: one of 46-yards and another of 61-yards. A game-long rushing line of 25 carries for 69 yards might not look impressive (their total minus the big runs), but 27 for 176 does, and that's what intent looks like.

"I think that's just the story right there," defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero pointed out, of the two big runs. "Something we're walking in, we know they're going to stay committed to it and, even though the early success is not there, they're going to stay committed to the run game."

Before the first explosive, the Chargers' longest run was 8-yards. Once J.K. Dobbins was able to break off the 46-yard run, the Chargers averaged 12.5 yards over their final 12 runs.

"They just want to run and they're very patient, like they're not going to give up on the run," safety Nick Scott scouted. "They weren't rattled because of the score or anything. They were just grinding it out and their mindset is 'eventually you guys are going to misfit it. When you misfit it, we're going to make it.'"

Added outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, "I think they did a good job of sticking to the game plan and didn't give up in the run game. The run game is not the burst right away. It's about leaning on the defense and getting them tired and getting them to a state where you can bust that big run. So, they stuck to their game plan, and it worked for them."

How does a defense combat that? How do you keep from playing with a false sense of security, leading to open lanes and no run help?

"Don't be sick of it getting boring," linebacker Josey Jewell laughed. "If it's boring sometimes it's good for run defense."

Linebacker Shaq Thompson, who led all game tacklers versus the Saints with 10 tackles, is taking some of his lessons from what the Raiders did—and didn't do—in the Chargers win.

"Stay in your gaps. That was the biggest thing, if you watched the film, you know, some guys just weren't in the gaps," Thompson shared. "Some linebackers got downhill; you got to play off the D line. That's the biggest thing I'm going to say.

"Jim Harbaugh is going to stick with it. He's all been sticking with it since when he was with the Niners and went to college and he's coming back, he's going to stick with it. And I love that it was downhill, that's football and I'm one of those backers who loves that type of contact."

There's also a danger in over-doing a play, according to Scott. When facing a team who is committed to the run, it's important to remember, "to not try to force anything and try to make a crazy TFL shooting gaps and what not when you're not supposed to; everybody be where they're supposed to be, try to knock out the run."

As the Panthers worked towards this regular season, general manager Dan Morgan made a concerted effort to bulk up at certain positions, namely corner. A trade with the Seattle Seahawks brought the 6-1, 210-pound Jackson to Charlotte.

Versus the Saints, Jackson put both the speed and size that Morgan fell in love with, on display, with not only a pass break-up, but seven tackles. It's a point of pride for the veteran defensive back, who already knows he'll be asked to throw his body into the run game versus the Chargers as well.

"I feel like I'm a big corner so like you can't be a big corner and not show up in a run game," Jackson preached. He harped on a Taysom Hill play, when Jackson ran Hill out of bounds, but in hindsight, Jackson felt he could have been a tackle in play. It'll drive him towards Sunday's game, where Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins will be waiting.

"It's required of us in the scheme but also I take it personally to show up in the run game," Jackson said.

The Panthers had six tackles for loss in total on Sunday, while giving up 180 yards against the Saints on the ground. There was a lone quarterback hurry, as well as one sack. Taking care of the first part—the run game—can help the latter though, and it's the crux of the Panthers plan against the Chargers this week.

Said Clowney, "We just got to stick to what we doing, what we need to do and that's stopping the run and getting them off schedule and try to get them in third long situation so we can have a chance to rush the passer, unlike last one."