Easton Stick's preseason start for Chargers somehow looks even worse

Easton Stick started the first preseason game of the year for the LA Chargers and played the entire first half. Stick turned in an uninspiring performance and in most cases, this would not matter as he is only the backup quarterback.

However, Stick's play is more important this year as Justin Herbert is currently sidelined with a plantar fascia injury. There is a chance Herbert plays in Week 1 and never has any lingering issues with his injury. But in the case that doesn't happen, the Chargers will need Stick to step up.

Unfortunately, Chargers fans are hard-pressed to believe in Stick as a starter after seeing how he faired on Saturday against the Seahawks. Coupled with his poor play in the regular season last year, it is safe to say Stick is not someone who is going to lead the Chargers to many wins, if any, if he starts.

As if Stick's performance wasn't bad enough, it somehow looks even worse when you compare it to the rest of the league. From an efficiency standpoint, Stick was the worst NFL quarterback in Week 1 of the preseason and it was not particularly close.

Easton Stick's efficiency numbers is nightmare fuel for Chargers fans

For those who do not have X and did not click on the post above, allow us to provide some context. There are 58 quarterbacks who had at least seven dropbacks during the first week of the preseason. Of those 58 quarterbacks, Stick ranked dead last with an EPA/play of -1.03.

A negative EPA means Stick was actively hurting the Chargers, which was obvious for those who watched the game. A zero EPA/play is not good, an EPA/play that is so far in the negative is horrendous.

For comparison's sake, Mitchell Trubisky checked in with exactly a zero EPA/play. The quarterbacks who just barely edged out Stick at the bottom of the list were Drew Lock, Taylor Heinicke, Mike White, Skylar Thompson and Jack Plummer.

Nobody is going to live up to Justin Herbert and expecting Stick to even be in the same ballpark is absurd. However, it is not unfair to expect something better than the worst quarterback in the league, which Stick was last week.

All of this highlights the need for the Chargers to be proactive at the quarterback position. It literally cannot hurt to add a backup quarterback who can fill in if Herbert misses time.

If Herbert misses time this backup quarterback can save the season with just one or two starts. If he does not miss time then it is inconsequential. But if Herbert misses time with Stick as the starting option, well then the Chargers are in trouble.