The Chargers travel to Seattle to take on the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks on Sunday as Los Angeles continues to search for their first win.
Here are a few reasons to be concerned that LA will not be able to get it done.
Key pieces banged up
Both nickel Derwin James Jr. (hamstring) and wide receiver Ladd McConkey (foot) went from a limited practice session on Wednesday to not practicing on Thursday, which puts two of the Chargers' best players in jeopardy of not being able to suit up on Sunday. LA's offense has been essentially run off the field when McConkey has not been a major part of it through three weeks, while the defensive scheme revolves around James and would at minimum really like to have Donte Jackson (concussion) back on Sunday so that they can
move Tarheeb Still into the slot if James is unable to play. Elijah Molden (hamstring) is also questionable and has not played since Week 1, so the Chargers are quickly getting pretty banged up in the secondary.
Matchup nightmare
It's a bad week to be banged up in the secondary, however, because LA will have to contend with reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Sunday. Smith-Njigba has been just as unguardable as he was last season to start this year and does the majority of his damage out of the slot, where the Chargers have struggled to defend receivers this season. Smith-Njigba is tied for the NFL lead with 27 receptions in four games and leads the league with 405 yards and 6 touchdowns. Devoting more attention to Smith-Njigba if James is limited or out might also free up opportunities for deep threat Rashid Shaheed, who has the potential to break LA's defense the way Tre Tucker did in Week 2.
Elite defense
Even while adjusting for the losses of free agents Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen, and Boye Mafe and injuries to Nick Emmanwori and Julian Love, Seattle has been the league's third-best defense by EPA/play to start the season. That's been buoyed by a league-leading -0.371 EPA/rush allowed, which bodes poorly for a Chargers run game that has already struggled to get things going against middle-tier run defenses this year. Seattle is also expecting to get Emmanwori and Love back on Sunday, which should help a dropback EPA allowed that currently ranks 13th in the league. With the Chargers offense ranked 30th in EPA/play and potentially missing McConkey, there's a possibility that Sunday gets very ugly very quickly.
Historic run
Seattle has not lost back-to-back games since Weeks 15 and 16 of the 2024 season, when the Seahawks lost to the Packers on Sunday Night Football and the Sam Darnold-led Vikings. They promptly replaced Geno Smith with Darnold that offseason and ripped off 12 straight wins between Week 12 of last season and Week 2 of this year, including a playoff run to their second Super Bowl title. Seattle faltered against the Commanders, led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, last week in a 33-31 shootout where the Seahawks turned the ball over three times but only allowed 4 yards per play. Given how ironclad the team has looked under head coach Mike Macdonald, it seems like a fool's errand to believe the Seahawks will crumble a second week in a row.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: 4 causes for concern for Chargers against the Seahawks in Week 4
