The Los Angeles Chargers have fallen to 3-2, a nice reminder of how quickly the NFL can humble both a team and its fans. So now what?

The Mehki Becton Problem

Another week down, time for another segment on the offensive line woes. The Chargers current offensive line is Austin Deculus (43.4 PFF grade), Zion Johnson (62.2 PFF grade), Bradley Bozeman (49.5 PFF grade), Mehki Becton (50.7 PFF grade), and Trey Pipkins (46.6 PFF grade). Four out of those five are at the bottom of the barrel, and this is not an NFL-caliber unit.

These are all things we already knew, but we didn’t realize that Mehki Becton would revert back to his pre-Jeff Stoutland days of constantly finding himself off the field, then struggling when he is on the field. Maybe I’m being harsh when I say this, because if Mehki can get healthy and finally find his footing, he is a perfect addition to this roster. If you are a Chargers fan (or even the front office right now), you have to be thinking about the very real possibility that a guy with red flags in his past may be starting to struggle with those past problems once again. And it is another indictment of a front office that made the conscious decision to run back the Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson experiment once again after a disgusting display of ineptitude in 2024.

The Chargers Front Office Feels the Pressure

The door is open now. The AFC is mediocre, the Bolts still find themselves in first place in the AFC West, thanks to a Kansas City Chiefs loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. With their two losses to teams that they were expected to beat, the front office feels the pressure to get back to some winning ways, as evidenced by their recent acquisition of edge rusher Odafe Oweh.

The team shipped off long-time starter Alohi Gilman in the process, a homegrown player who blossomed into a good starter but struggled to find consistency. This is a sentiment shared by Ravens fans in regards to Oweh, who has found his footing this year with a 70.3 PFF grade. Oweh immediately bolsters a pass rush unit that, outside of Tuli Tuipolotu, is easily one of the worst in the NFL. Non-Tuipolotu rushers on the Chargers rank 106th and 111th in Pass Rush Win Rate ... out of 115 qualified rushers. Oweh ranks 28th, immediately creating a room that has talent and depth once future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack returns to the fold.

I expect an aggressive Chargers front office if this team is still making a push for the AFC West title come trade deadline time. I could see them trying to bolster the linebacker room, and while it would be nice for offensive line help to fall into their lap, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a team willing to deal a starting-caliber lineman midseason.

The Injury Bug of Doom and Dispair

Rashawn Slater, Josh Harris, Denzel Perryman, Khalil Mack, Najee Harris, Mehki Becton, Omarion Hampton, Derius Davis, Joe Alt, Will Dissly, and Elijah Molden.

That’s all of the starters who have missed time with injuries this year thus far. Slater, Harris, Perryman, Mack, and Hampton all find themselves on injured reserve, with Slater and Harris being done for the entire season. This is before you discuss guys like Trey Pipkins, who have been banged up all year, or Daiyan Henley, who is still recovering from a brutal sickness that left him in tears during the Week 2 win in Vegas. The Chargers' roster is in tatters right now, and as a result are back to relying on superhero play from Justin Herbert to even have a chance to compete.

Justin Herbert is Just Fine

I should clarify, I’m sure he’s not fine physically after once again dealing with double-digit QB pressures despite getting the ball out in less than 2.5 seconds on average. But as far as the product he is putting out on the field, Justin Herbert is still playing very good football. (This is something that shouldn’t be in doubt, but if you look at the box score, you might be very worried.)

Justin Herbert put up an 84.0 PFF grade on Sunday, once again proving that even when the sky is falling around him, he is still doing his part. Watching Herbert right now should still give all of the Chargers fans optimism that they can hang with any team on any day. When he’s kept upright, he is still carving teams up, and hopefully–with Joe Alt’s return right around the corner–you can expect to see a more aggressive downfield passing attack similar to what they put on display in Weeks 1-3.