The Los Angeles Chargers went into Monday Night Football already walking a tightrope on the offensive line. Losing Trey Pipkins III mid-game turned that rope into a thread.
With the Chargers hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in a primetime matchup between 8-4 teams, right tackle Trey Pipkins III left in the second quarter with an ankle injury after going down awkwardly on a pass play. He needed help to get off the field, and Bobby Hart came in to replace him at right tackle.
Not long after, the news got worse. Adam Schefter reported that the Chargers downgraded Trey Pipkins III to out for the rest of the game, ending his night and leaving Los Angeles even thinner in front of Justin Herbert.
That is a brutal development for a line that already lost Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, with Alt undergoing season-ending ankle surgery earlier in the year. Pipkins had been the veteran plug-in on the right side after all that shuffling, making his exit feel like the worst-case scenario for an offense built around its quarterback.
You could see the strain almost immediately. Justin Herbert sat in a collapsing pocket most of the night, going 10-of-19 for 1132 yards with one touchdown and one interception while taking five sacks, according to the ESPN box score. The Chargers leaned on the ground game with Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal, but still managed just 82 rushing yards as a team.
On the other side, Jalen Hurts went 15-of-28 for 153 yards with three interceptions, and the game turned into a slog of field position, sacks, and turnovers instead of a clean quarterback duel.
