The Los Angeles Chargers enter the AFC playoffs as one of the league’s most compelling, yet deeply flawed, contenders. Their high-octane offense is piloted by Justin Herbert, who led the team to an 11-win season while enduring some injuries throughout the year. The reason for the punishment: the Chargers have lost both of their elite, first-round tackles for the season. The tandem of All-Pro Rashawn Slater and rising star Joe Alt, is squarely on injured reserve, leaving a gaping void on the edges of the offensive line that has defined the team's entire campaign.
Slater suffered a season-ending patellar tendon tear in training camp and Alt went down with a high-ankle fracture later in the year. Both injuries have been a deathblow to the unit’s identity. This has resulted in a season of unprecedented attrition up front, forcing the Chargers to utilize nearly 30 different offensive line combinations and exposing Herbert to constant duress. He finished the season as the most-pressured quarterback in the league, absorbing a career-high 54 sacks and taking countless hits that forced him to play the final month with a broken left hand. The question going into the playoffs is not about Herbert’s talent, but his physical capacity to survive the next four quarters.
For the Chargers to advance, this makeshift unit must find a way to stabilize the edges and give Herbert the time to deliver the ball downfield. Against opponents who will relentlessly target the edge deficiencies, the Chargers’ playoff hopes rest entirely on the ability of their backup tackles to build a pocket strong enough to withstand the postseason pressure.
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Chargers offensive line injuries
All-Pro Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his knee during a practice in August, weeks before the season began. This devastating blow shattered the Chargers' vision of fielding one of the league’s premier tackle tandems, forcing an immediate reshuffling of the unit. The plan was to move the second-year phenom Joe Alt from his planned right tackle spot back to his natural position at left tackle, with veteran Trey Pipkins III then slotting in at the vacant right tackle position ahead of Week 1.
However, the revolving door of injuries did not stop there. That plan held until mid-season, when the second major calamity struck: Alt suffered a season-ending high ankle fracture in Week 9, requiring surgery and sidelining him indefinitely. This meant the Chargers had lost both of their elite, first-round tackles for the entirety of the season. To further complicate the issue, the interior line struggled all year, with center Bradley Bozeman ranking as one of the worst at his position, amplifying the defensive pressure that quarterback Justin Herbert was already facing from the edges.
With both stars on injured reserve, the Chargers were forced to rely on a collection of backups and journeymen. The left tackle spot was held primarily by Jamaree Salyer, who had spent time at guard and tackle, and even required the use of fourth-string options like Austin Deculus at various points. Meanwhile, Pipkins remained at right tackle, forming a pair of replacements that simply could not match the talent of Alt and Slater.
This constantly changing unit directly contributed to Justin Herbert enduring a career-high number of sacks and pressures, forcing the Chargers to limp into the playoffs with an offensive line ranked among the worst in the NFL.
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