The LA Chargers knew they were in for a hard-nosed, competitive road game against the 2-0 Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. And while the Chargers maintained control of the game in the first half, injuries caught up to the Bolts and the Steelers were able to win the war of attrition.
Justin Herbert's injury was the biggest story of the game. Herbert entered the game with a high ankle sprain and after turning in a great first half, the star quarterback aggravated the injury in the third quarter after Cam Heyward landed on his lower right leg. Herbert was removed from the game with Taylor Heinicke taking over at quarterback.
Star left tackle Rashawn Slater joined his star quarterback on the sideline as he was also removed with a pectoral injury. It is unclear how serious the injury is and if it will have any impact on Slater moving forward.
Joey Bosa started the injury trend after just one snap in the first quarter. Bosa re-aggravated his hip injury and did not return to the game. Unfortunately, Bosa is not doing himself any favors with his injury-prone narrative.
Finally, if all that was not enough, 2024 first-round pick Joe Alt was hurt during the fourth quarter. Trainers were seen working out his leg on the sideline. The offense did not return to the field after Alt's injury, so it is unclear if he would have been able to return to the game.
Chargers fans' focus turns to the future after a pile-up of injuries
The Chargers were never going to go 17-0 and losses were bound to happen. Obviously, no fan is happy seeing their favorite team lose, but moving to 2-1 on the season after two very impressive wins is by no means season-ending.
However, the injuries sustained in this game very well could be. The Chargers essentially lost their four best players in this game to injury. None of the four injuries were insant season-enders as the question now becomes what the future will hold for this quartet of stars.
It goes without saying that is this foursome is forced to all miss extended time together then the Chargers' losses could pile up and remove them from the AFC playoff picture. However, if these are just minor injuries, the Chargers very well could stay afloat.
Next week's game against the Kansas City Chiefs just became a much tougher battle. Even if three of the four play, the Chargers will not beat the Chiefs without Justin Herbert under center. Beating Patrick Mahomes is already hard enough.
But the season is not over if the Chargers lose to the Chiefs. Los Angeles has a well-timed bye week in Week 5 that will give each of these players a chance to rest and recover. Just about every fan would trade that Chiefs game for a better chance at full health after the bye so the Chargers can regain momentum.
That is all future discussions, though. As it stands right now, there is no certainty whatsoever about what the future holds for these star Chargers.