The Los Angeles Chargers are heading into a crucial Week 15 showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night with plenty on the line in terms of playoff implications.
This task appears to be have gotten a little more difficult with their top running backs in Pro Bowler Melvin Gordon and backup Austin Ekeler both being likely out for this week's contest, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Melvin Gordon has missed the last two games with a knee injury and Austin Ekeler is on the injury reportwith both a neck injury and a concussion. The outlook for Ekeler getting cleared on a short week never looked good, but there was some hope that Gordon would be able to return to action.
Los Angeles has been without Gordon for the last two games due to an MCL injury that has kept him off the field. There was expectation that he would be out of the lineup for a few weeks, which could have him back in play at some point in the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Ekeler is dealing with a neck injury and a concussion that he suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals. What may come to his disadvantage is that there only a couple of days for him to get through the concussion protocol, which is certainly not enough time for him to showcase that he is physically ready to give it a go on a short week.
These are major losses for the offense as both have proven to be huge factors in the offense out of the backfield. Their absences put the responsibility of the running game on the shoulder of rookie Justin Jackson, who has shown in spurts that he can be an effective option.
Although he had a rough outing against the Bengals tallying 12 rushing yards on seven carries along with just two catches for 23 receiving yards, he will have a chance to play in an expanded role on Thursday night. His performance on the field could be critical to helping the Chargers pull out a huge road on Thursday.
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