Chargers QB Justin Herbert is a question mark against the Jaguars

As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to head west to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, there is a stark difference between the two teams, as far as injuries are concerned. On the Jaguars end, they’re weirdly… healthy? The team continuously seems to have no players on the injury report, which after two weeks of the 2022 NFL season, seems crazy.

On the flip side, the team the Jaguars will be facing on Sunday, have some worrisome injuries that could have huge impact on the Chargers’ chances of winning on Sunday.

Chargers star quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with a rib cartilage fracture he suffered last Thursday in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, making him a question mark for Sunday’s game. Hebert was throwing during Wednesday’s practice according to reports from NFL Network, but playing with a rib injury as a quarterback can go bad quickly, especially if the Jaguars are able to rush the passer like they did this past Sunday against the Colts.

Last week the Jaguars battered Matt Ryan, hitting him in the double-digits and sacking him five times. That is not what you want coming at your quarterback with a rib injury, especially when you have multiple offensive lineman also dealing with injuries.

Corey Linsey and Trey Pipkins III, the Chargers starting center and right tackle, respectively, are both listed as day-to-day on the injury report. The belief early in the week is both will end up playing against the Jaguars on Sunday, which in my opinion would lean towards Herbert starting the game.

If I’m the Chargers however and those two offensive lineman can’t play on Sunday, I think I would play it safe and keep Hebert on the bench and roll with Chase Daniel against the Jaguars. The long term of saving hits on Herbert behind a banged up offensive line is worth the risk of starting Daniel.