Chargers drop issues made worse vs. Bengals by Week 13 NFL weather report

The LA Chargers have had a problem with dropping the football this season. The Bolts currently rank first in the entire NFL in drops with 24 of Justin Herbert's passes hitting the grass after hitting a pass-catcher in the hands. It has been an issue all season and is an issue that Charger fans are hoping doesn't show up in a huge matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Week 13 NFL weather report makes the issue much more likely to surface in this game.

The Chargers are spoiled playing in SoFi Stadium as weather does not really play a factor (well, unless there is lightning, which caused a delay because of SoFi's open-air nature). And on the road this year the Bolts really haven't had to deal with much weather issues. There was some wind against the Chiefs in Week 3 but outside of that, every Chargers game this season has had fair weather that didn't have an impact.

The weather is absolutely going to have an impact in Week 13 in Cincinnati. According to Weather.com, there is a decent amount of rain in the forecast for Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. There is a 90% chance of rain on Sunday and it is all predicted to hit the stadium in the afternoon into the evening.

At 1:00 p.m. local time (game start), there is a 55% chance of precipitation with what Weather.com is calling "showers". At 4:00 p.m. local time there is a 93% chance of rain in the forecast, so it is safe to say that we could see the Chargers playing in their first rainy game of the season.

The Week 13 NFL weather report should be extremely concerning for the LA Chargers

Not only are the drops an issue for the Bolts but this automatically makes it a tougher matchup for the team. As good as Justin Herbert is, he has not really played in a rain game as a professional and we have no idea what to expect. While Herbert is great, playing in a hostile environment with the elements against you, and your receivers dropping the ball, can have a big impact on a young player.

Plus, the Bengals are more suited for a rainy game. While Austin Ekeler is great, he is not someone who is going to carry the ball 25 times in a game as the team is looking to keep him fresh and healthy. The problem is that the rest of the running back room is atrocious. Meanwhile, Cincy is really good at running back, led by Joe Mixon, who has been incredible the last two weeks.

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We all know that the Chargers run defense is the worst in the league as well. The last thing the Bolts want is to get into a battle in the trenches that is forced because of the elements. That is a recipe for losing for the Chargers.