The winning locker room didn’t sound like a typical winning locker room after the Chargers seized a 27-20 victory Sunday from the Tennessee Titans. The death of linebacker Daiyan Henley’s older brother was one reason. Injuries to tackles Joe Alt and Bobby Hart were another.
Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next for the Chargers, a team that managed to keep it together before, during and after what proved to be an emotional afternoon far from home and during a game it had been expected to win handily but found itself challenged:
O-LINE ISSUES
Left tackle Rashawn Slater’s season-ending knee injury during a routine drill on Day 16 of training camp on Aug. 7 set into motion a series of events, none of them ideal. Alt shifted into Slater’s spot from right tackle and Trey Pipkins III moved into Alt’s position from a backup’s role.
Next, Alt sprained his right ankle during the first quarter of the Chargers’ loss Sept. 28 to the New York Giants, which meant Austin Deculus was moved into Alt’s spot. The Chargers acquired Deculus on Aug. 26 from the Houston Texans in exchange for a seventh-round pick for just such a scenario.
Then, after Pipkins suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for two games, the Chargers shifted Bobby Hart into his spot. The Chargers had signed Hart to the practice squad Oct. 1 and then to the active roster Oct. 11, and he’s been a valued starter and depth player for the past four games.
Now what? What do the Chargers do if Alt is sidelined for an extended period again, after he was carted from the field in the second quarter with another sprained right ankle? What can they do if Hart is out for a significant period after he departed in the first quarter with groin and ankle injuries?
For starters, Foster Sarell and Jamaree Salyer will be pressed into service more and more, as they were Sunday. Sarell played all 65 offensive snaps against Tennessee and Salyer played 38 of 65. Alt played only 27 snaps before he was hurt and Hart played only 11 before he exited.
“Just dig deep” was Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh’s antidote to what ails the O-line. “Keep digging deep, and guys step up, and that’s what you do. Sometimes, you could say, the team finds itself in a situation where it’s got its back against the wall. I mean, that’s when you find out who you really are.”
TRADE SOLUTION?
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 1 p.m. (PST). It might be the only way for the Chargers to bolster their offensive line in the anticipated absence of Alt and Hart with games Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Nov. 16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars before the bye week.
If not, if a trade can’t be made, then the Chargers might learn they’re not the playoff team they could be if Alt and Hart are sidelined for any length of time. The Chargers might find out just how valuable a healthy and productive offensive line can be in front of someone with Herbert’s talent.
Not that they didn’t realize these things already, but the final eight games of the season could be an exercise in futility if they can’t replace Alt and Hart and build on their modest success in the season’s first half. The Chargers’ 6-3 record of the moment could be ancient history if their O-line isn’t sound.
OWEH STANDS OUT
The Chargers’ defensive play has been superb during victories over the Titans (1-8) and Minnesota Vikings (4-4) the past two weeks. Their lackluster competition notwithstanding, the Chargers limited the Titans to only 206 total net yards after holding the Vikings to 164 on Oct. 23.
Odafe Oweh, an outside linebacker the Chargers acquired Oct. 8 in a swap that sent safety Alohi Gilman to the Baltimore Ravens, has bolstered the pass rush. He had two sacks of Titans quarterback Cam Ward on Sunday, giving him four overall since he was acquired as a depth player.
“Yeah, that was something,” Harbaugh said of Oweh’s pressure on Ward on Sunday. “He’s given us a big boost in that area. Glad we got him. Fantastic. Odafe Oweh. The more sacks he gets, the better I learn (to pronounce) his name. I’m learning his name like I know my own name.”
WHAT COMES NEXT
Alt was expected to undergo testing Monday on his ankle; the trade deadline was set for Tuesday afternoon; and the Chargers were scheduled to return to the practice field Wednesday in El Segundo in preparation for a game Sunday night against the Steelers (5-3) at SoFi Stadium.