Following their Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the LA Chargers have a much more concerning issue at hand than solely dealing with a loss. Quarterback Justin Herbert aggravated his high ankle sprain he had been dealing with and now his status for Week 4 is up in the air.
While fans shouldn't be surprised to see Herbert try to gut it out and play in this one against the Kansas City Chiefs, it's still not a fun place to be when the franchise quarterback is hurt. At least this isn't the worst-case scenario, though. This doesn't appear to be a season-threatening injury and, in the end, the Chargers won't have any drama to deal with at the position.
Speaking of drama, what's worse than the franchise quarterback being injured?
Quarterback drama.
That's exactly where a Chargers rival is headed, at the moment.
In the Las Vegas Raiders' Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, fans saw starter Gardner Minshew benched later in the game in favor of backup Aidan O'Connell.
After Minshew threw an interception with roughly nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, head coach Antonio Pierce pulled the veteran in favor of the second-year pro, O'Connell. The former Purdue Boilermaker went on to complete 9-of-12 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown pass to Tre Tucker.
While the Chargers have quarterback issues of their own, misery sure does love company
Just a week ago, everyone was singing Minshew's praises after the Raiders beat the Baltimore Ravens in comeback fashion, and on the road, nonetheless. Minshew was quite a bit more efficient, going 30-for-38 and finishing with 276 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Davante Adams seemed to be proud of Minshew and the way he hung in that game, and that's an important factor in Vegas, right now. If Adams has your back, you're in good shape. At that moment in time, during Adams' postgame interview, it looked like Vegas was completely without any quarterback controversy.
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Fast forward to present day, and Adams might not have a clue who his starting quarterback is after what we saw on Sunday. Late Monday night, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport did state that the Raiders weren't yet ready to turn to O'Connell, but the fact that there's even been a question at all, this week, is pretty funny.
As this week continues to unfold, at least the Chargers know who their quarterback is. Herbert is their guy, and although he's currently not 100 percent healthy, there is absolutely zero debate in that room. The Chargers have their franchise quarterback, not just a starter named.
So while the Bolts are ailing at the position physically, the Raiders are providing potential comic relief in the form of once again not knowing who their starting quarterback is on a week-to-week basis. And, any time the Raiders have a notable problem on their hands, it's a good time to be a Chargers fan.
Right now, even though things aren't all sunshine and rainbows, it's still a good time to be a Chargers fan.
Best of luck, Vegas.