The LA Chargers are coming off of a horrible defensive showing in Week 1 of the 2023 season. Los Angeles hosted the same Miami Dolphins team that Brandon Staley's defense shut down in 2022 and fans were expecting more of the same with the team being much healthier this time around.
Instead, the Chargers went backward and allowed an offensive clinic for Miami. The Dolphins put up over 500 yards of offense and scored 36 points, which is lower than the team probably should have scored considering the Dolphins botched a snap and fumbled on the first drive of the game in the red zone.
Luckily, the Chargers are not facing an electric offense in Week 2 as the Tennessee Titans have the perfect offense for Staley's defense to get back on track. The only problem is that the defense might not end up being healthy, which could spell another disaster for the Bolts.
Thursday injury report for #Chargers and Titans pic.twitter.com/2yCAQkcfVc
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) September 14, 2023
Chargers injury report includes Joey Bosa, Eric Kendricks, and Austin Ekeler, to name a few
The odds of Joey Bosa, Eric Kendricks and Austin Ekeler playing in Week 2 seem pretty slim as things stand on Thursday. Typically, when a player is unable to participate at all on Thursday then they probably won't be able to play a road Sunday game in the early time slot.
While Ekeler is obviously a big name, most of the concern should be on the defensive side of the ball. Neither Bosa or Kendricks played all that well in Week 1 against the Dolphins but not having them on defense is still massive.
What makes it even worse is their respective backups are also dealing with injuries. Daiyan Henley and Chris Rumph would normally be able to step up and produce more for the team in this situation. However, with both guys limited on Thursday, there is no telling if they will be available on Sunday.
Chargers fans already had to suffer through bad linebacker play in Week 1. If Kendricks and Henley are both unavailable then it will be left up to Kenneth Murray and (probably) Amen Ogbongbemiga to pick up the slack. Against an offense led by Derrick Henry, that is not a great place to be in.