The Chargers are 0-5, and the offensive line has become the clearest place to see how thin the margin has gotten.
Los Angeles has lost Rashawn Slater and Alt to ankle and neck injuries, respectively, and Trevor Penning to a concussion in Week 4. That has left the team without both starting tackles and without its top three left guards, a combination that has pushed the line into emergency mode rather than adjustment mode.
Against Denver, the Chargers started four rookie offensive linemen. In the previous week, they were forced to field a trio of Day 3 rookies up front. That is the kind of personnel churn that usually comes with a rebuilding team, not one trying to survive the first month of a season with its quarterback already under constant pressure.
Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey, both sixth-round picks, were asked to handle left guard and right tackle duties, respectively. Taylor’s Week 4 line was especially costly: he allowed three pressures and was involved in a strip sack that ended the Chargers’ comeback attempt.
There is at least one possible internal answer still sitting in reserve. The injury to Biadasz allowed him to make the 53-man roster, and Los Angeles has that option in its back pocket if it needs it. Now that Taylor is off the injury list, he also brings a measured amount of upside at both guard and tackle.
But the broader picture is harder to ignore. The Chargers are 32nd in offensive EPA after five weeks at minus-0.192, 30th in points per game at 16.8, and 25th in yards per game at 292.8. They also lead the league with 14 accepted false start penalties, a number that fits the same pattern of breakdowns and instability.
Herbert has been sacked the second-most times of any quarterback in the league, and the line’s instability has only made the offense more difficult to sustain. Ladd McConkey is also out due to injury for the Denver game, another reminder of how little margin the Chargers have left.
An 0-5 team has never made the playoffs. That is the backdrop for every decision now, especially for a roster that has already been pushed into starting four rookies up front and is still waiting to see whether the response matches the urgency of the record.