The LA Chargers had to deal with life without Austin Ekeler for three games as the star running back has not played since Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins. Chargers fans are not the only ones who have had to suffer, though, as Ekeler's injury has derailed the start of many fantasy football seasons.
Ekeler has been dealing with a high ankle sprain and it seemed like there was a chance that he could return before the Chargers Week 5 bye. At the end of the day, though, Ekeler was ultimately ruled inactive in Week 4, making fantasy owners scramble in the process.
The scrambling may finally be over, though. Ekeler himself provided an update to his status during Tuesday's practice and it looks very likely that he is going to play on Monday Night Football in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Austin Ekeler said he expects to play this week. Said “99%” chance he plays Monday night vs. Cowboys.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) October 10, 2023
Austin Ekeler is '99%' going to play for the Chargers against the Cowboys
At this rate, it would take an unforeseen setback for Ekeler not to play in the Chargers' Week 6 game against the Cowboys. Ekeler playing in Week 4 was on the table so him being able to play two weeks later on Monday Night Football should be a no-brainer.
This is a huge boost for a Chargers offense that has done fine without Ekeler but has certainly missed his presence at points. The Chargers have struggled to run the ball consistently without Ekeler and at times in the Raiders game, looked a lot like last year's team.
This offense was not expecting to be without both Ekeler and Mike Williams so early on, which obviously made things murky for the team. Williams is not going to come back but having Ekeler back can lessen that void for the Bolts.
The most compelling impact that this has is in the red zone. Kellen Moore has turned the Chargers into a top-five team in the red zone while his former team has gone from the best team in the red zone to one of the worst.
Moore has been able to do that with Ekeler only playing one game. With Ekeler back in the fold, we might see a Chargers offense that is as good, if not better, than last year's Cowboys team was inside the 20.