Los Angeles Chargers On Upset Alert In Week 3 With Justin Herbert Questionable

The Los Angeles Chargers could be without Justin Herbert for their Week 3 clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars, with his status for a game that presents more danger than first thought potentially setting them up for an early and costly fall in the AFC playoff race.

Herbert, who suffered and played through broken rib cartilage in the Chargers’ Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, was listed as questionable on Los Angeles’ final injury report ahead of the Jaguars’ visit to SoFi Stadium.

“That’s a decision we have a couple more days to make,” Herbert said, per NFL.com, on the prospect of him playing against Jacksonville. “That decision will be made on Sunday.”

If Herbert is deemed healthy enough to start, then it stands to reason he should be able to guide the offense to a winning performance given some of the throws he made against Kansas City while injured, including a 35-yard strike to DeAndre Carter that set up the Chargers’ final touchdown in a 27-24 defeat.

But if Herbert is unable to go and the Chargers are forced to turn to Chase Daniel, then that is a recipe for an upset against a Jaguars team that has seen an encouraging start from Trevor Lawrence and has been efficient on both sides of the ball.

Through two weeks, Lawrence is fourth in Ben Baldwin’s Expected Points Added and Completion Percentage Over Expectation composite metric, per rbsdm.com.

He is piloting an offense that is ninth in Football Outsiders DVOA and Jacksonville’s success in that metric is even more impressive on defense. The Jags’ defense is third in DVOA behind the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and just ahead of the San Francisco 49ers.

Lawrence is establishing a strong rapport with the playmakers to whom the Jaguars gave lucrative contracts in the offseason, while the Jaguars’ defense is playing on a similar level to teams who are established as some of the best in the NFL on that side of the ball.

After losing ground in the division to the Chiefs with the loss at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers can ill-afford to suffer another conference loss, even at this early stage, if they are to truly challenge for the AFC West title.

Yet with Herbert banged up and potentially set to miss a game versus a team whose early performances indicate they are set for significant strides this year, the Chargers could be primed for an upset that could leave them with an uphill battle to meet the lofty expectations many had for them going into 2022.