Looking at the AFC playoff picture, there's a number of teams clumped together in the Wild Card hunt. While the Chargers still absolutely have a shot to win the division with games remaining against Denver and Kansas City, the alternative way they can make the dance is still worth monitoring.
Currently, the Bills, Chargers, and Chiefs are the 5th, 6th, and 7th Wild Card seeds respectively. Right behind them on the playoff bubble is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coming off of their BYE week, the Jags sit a half game back of Kansas City and Los Angeles at 4-3. On Friday morning however, the Jaguars got some distressing news for their playoff hopes. WR/CB Travis Hunter was placed on IR with a non-contact knee injury.
Two way rookie Travis Hunter will miss the Jaguars' potentially big Wild Card clash against the Chargers in Week 11.
HC Liam Coen announced that Hunter was injured during practice on Thursday. Placing Hunter on IR means that he'll miss at least four games, starting with this week's contest vs. Las Vegas. The third week of his IR stint lines up with when Jacksonville hosts the Chargers in Week 11.
While not the level of loss that completely swings that outcome of the game on its own, Hunter had been heating up on offense for Jacksonville. He had his first 100+ yard game against the Rams. In his last three games he had put up 180 yards as a consistent contributor. Hunter's last two games saw him primarily play on offense and settle in as a receiver. He played 58 offensive snaps vs. the Seahawks and 67 vs. the Rams.
Obviously, this also narrows down what the Chagers have to focus on from a defensive perspective. Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington and Dyami Brown is a bit easier to defend as a WR room when Hunter isn't in the mix. This also takes away any possibility of the Jaguars using the Heisman winner on defense.
Per the The Athletic's Upshot 2025 NFL Playoff model, the Chargers' game against the Jags in Week 11 is one of their highest impact matchups of the year. With a win vs. the Jaguars, the Chargers would see their playoff probability shoot up to 87%. Plugging in a loss vs. Jacksonville into the algorithm sees LA's playoff chances dip down to 60%. AFC wins tiebreaker could also be important from either a Wild Card or AFC West perspective.
It won't be an easy game for the Chargers, but Hunter was starting to come along well in Jacksonville. Before we even get to Week 11 though, the Chargers will need to take care of business against the Titans and Steelers.