The LA Chargers have been dealing with some of the worst injury luck in the entire league. Luckily, things are looking positive after Week 4 with Justin Herbert playing like his normal self and Jamaree Salyer playing far above expectations at left tackle.
J.C. Jackson and Corey Linsley also returned in Week 4, which was a positive for the team. Jackson did not play well but just having him back in the defense and getting his legs under him will be important moving forward.
The hope heading into Week 4 was that Keenan Allen could return and it appeared that he was on track to doing so. However, he re-aggravated his hamstring injury in practice and was shortly ruled out of Sunday's game against the Texans. With him already trying to come back, there was still hope there.
However, that hope may have been dashed on Monday, as Brandon Staley confirmed that Allen is still labeled as day-to-day, with the team taking a cautious approach with the veteran. That does not bode well for his chances to play in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns.
Brandon Staley still calls Keenan Allen day to day.
— Hayley Elwood (@HayleyElwood) October 3, 2022
“We’re gonna make sure we’re careful.”
The Chargers offense simply is not the same without Keenan Allen
Keenan Allen is the no. 1 receiver on this offense and his importance to this team is felt when he is not playing. Allen is Justin Herbert's go-to receiver on third downs and in big spots because of his ability to get separation with his elite route-running.
We saw an offense that missed Allen's presence after he got hurt in Week 1 against the Raiders. Luckily, the team seemingly figured it out some as the offensive performance against the Houston Texans was far more promising. That being said, Houston also has a really poor run defense and a bad secondary.
The Browns are a different story with a solid defense that will game plan against Mike Williams and take him away from Herbert. It is doubtful that we are going to see the same slant routes for Williams in this game with how Cleveland will attack him.
Hopefully, Joe Lombardi can draw something else up that utilizes other options in the passing game because without Allen, this offense becomes a lot easier to game plan against. If all goes well, the Chargers can walk away with another victory on the road before hosting the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in Week 6.
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Keenan Allen will hopefully be able to return for that game.