0-4, and Now the Wall Is Gone: Rashawn Slater's Ankle Is the Last Thing These Chargers Could Survive

The Los Angeles Chargers are 0-4 for the first time in a long time, and the news cycle over the past week has been less a spiral than a list of things going wrong at once. But the story that matters most isn't the record. It's what happened to the offensive line.

Left tackle Rashawn Slater suffered a high-ankle sprain in his right foot during the Week 4 loss to Seattle, and reports indicate he's expected to miss four to six weeks — making him a candidate for injured reserve. Jim Harbaugh has said only that the team is still evaluating that option, but "miss some time" is coach-speak for several weeks, and those are weeks the Chargers cannot really afford.

The Timing Could Not Be Worse

Los Angeles has already been playing behind a leaky front. Justin Herbert has been sacked 12 times in four games — a sack rate of 9.2 percent — and he's absorbing three per game while already pressing. His numbers tell the story of a quarterback under duress: 59.7 percent completions, 816 yards, four touchdowns against six interceptions, a 70.6 passer rating, and four fumbles.

That regression isn't happening in a vacuum. When the pocket collapses early, the checkdowns get shorter and the forced throws get riskier, and the Chargers have turned the ball over on a rate that has gutted an offense averaging just 16.8 points per game.

It's Not Just Slater

The depth chart behind him is a mess. Joe Alt has been limited or absent with an ankle issue, Trey Pipkins has bounced between limited and did-not-participate with knee and ankle problems, and Trevor Penning has appeared on the report as well. Tyler Biadasz, the center, has shown up with ankle and thumb designations. That is the majority of a starting offensive line cycling through the training room in October.

The practical consequence is that Herbert's protection goes from shaky to improvisational. The run game — 121.5 yards per game, with Omarion Hampton grinding out 4.0 yards per carry and Keaton Mitchell a more efficient 4.6 — could become the offense's only stable footing. But it's hard to hand the ball off when defenses don't respect the pass, and it's hard to throw when the edge rusher is already in the backfield.

What It Means for the Season

The bigger-picture news isn't much kinder. FanSided's Chargers coverage has already raised questions about Harbaugh's job security and Joe Hortiz's offseason, and the futures market is in agreement about how far off this team is — Los Angeles sits at 12500 in championship odds, effectively a long shot.

Sunday's home game against Denver (2-2) offers a real opportunity, oddly enough. The Broncos arrive with their own problems: a rushing attack managing just 81.3 yards per game, an 0-2 road record, and a secondary that may be missing Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss. Denver opened as roughly a 3.5-point favorite with the total sitting around 42.5, which is the market's way of saying it doesn't expect a shootout from either side.

But that's exactly the trap. A banged-up Denver secondary should give Herbert his cleanest look in a month — except that the reason to be cautious isn't Denver's coverage, it's the men tasked with blocking for him. If the Chargers can't hold up in front, the matchup advantage outside never gets a chance to matter.

The schedule doesn't get easier after this. Los Angeles is in the AFC West with Kansas City at 4-0 and Las Vegas at 3-1. An 0-5 hole with a patchwork line and a quarterback who's taken 12 sacks in four weeks is not a hole teams climb out of.

The Chargers' season isn't over mathematically. It's just that the single injury they could least absorb landed on the one unit that was already failing them.