The Chargers will look to improve to 2-1 on the season this Sunday against the Jaguars at SoFi Stadium.
However, questions about this team still abound, especially on offense.
Here are four reasons to be concerned about the game:
Justin Herbert’s health
The conversation around the Chargers this week and likely multiple weeks after this will be about whether or not Herbert will be good to go on Sunday after fracturing his rib cartilage in the loss to the Chiefs. Ultimately, it comes down to pain tolerance: if Herbert can withstand the injury, he can play. The team will likely give him an injection to help with the pain management, the same one that they gave Tyrod Taylor when the team doctor accidentally punctured Taylor’s lung. But then again, there’s a possibility that Herbert sits out and Chase Daniel starts. Even if a healthy Daniel is under center, I don’t feel confident that the offense will fire on all cylinders.
Trevor Lawrence’s ascension
Lawrence has been nothing short of spectacular this season, largely thanks to an offense that makes schematic sense as opposed to whatever Urban Meyer’s staff was putting on the field last season. The former No. 1 overall pick is top ten in nearly every QB metric there is through two weeks:
Trevor Lawrence ranks through 2 weeks:
DYAR: No. 6
DVOA: No. 5
QBR: No. 5
Effective yards: No. 8
Completion %: No. 10
TD%: No. 13
INT%: No. 9
Y/A: No. 13
AY/A: No. 11
Sack%: No. 3
NY/A: No. 8
ANY/A: No. 7
EPA/play: No. 6
CPOE: No. 3
Success rate: No. 3— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) September 20, 2022
This has come against Washington and Indianapolis, two bottom-half defenses against the pass according to DVOA. The Chargers, meanwhile, are eighth in pass defense DVOA, largely because of the emergence of Asante Samuel Jr., who has strung together two stellar games. Still, this isn’t the Trevor Lawrence of last season, when Jacksonville snagged the top pick for the second consecutive season. This could be his national coming out party if he performs against this Chargers secondary.
Run game woes
LA has been well below average as a run-blocking team, ranking in the bottom seven in perfectly blocked play percentage. Jacksonville, meanwhile, is about league average in preventing perfectly blocked run plays. Even if Herbert plays, I’d expect the game plan to feature Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley more heavily to take pressure off the quarterback. But if LA does that, they’ll need the run game to wake up. That’s no easy feat with Corey Linsley (knee tendinitis) and Trey Pipkins (ankle) also nursing minor injuries. Linsley is a key part of the communication up front, and his absence in the second half was palpable on Thursday. If he can’t go on Sunday, the run game may continue to sputter. And if that happens with a hampered Justin Herbert or a limited Chase Daniel under center, this game may suddenly be much more of a sweat.
Trap game
These aren’t last year’s Jaguars, and they certainly aren’t the 2020 Jaguars, who dropped a game to LA 39-29. LA cannot expect to be able to throw Daniel out there at quarterback and cruise to an easy victory. Again, Jacksonville has only played the Commanders and Colts, who rank 24th and 31st in overall DVOA, respectively. But Doug Pederson has this team playing to the talent level they’ve acquired over the last few seasons. #1 overall pick Travon Walker is already drawing double teams because of his proficiency as a pass rusher. Lawrence is firing on all cylinders. Christian Kirk has looked worth the massive contract he was given. The Chargers cannot look past this game, and I don’t think they will, at least not to the level some fans have. But if they come out flat, thinking they can ease out a victory, they’ve got another thing coming.
