Chargers at 0-8: Five realities facing Los Angeles before Monday’s visit to Baltimore

The Ravens host the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 10, and the matchup arrives with unusually stark context on both sides. Through eight games, Los Angeles is 0-8 and has been the league’s lone winless team entering the stretch run.

The first problem is scoring. The Chargers rank last in points per game at 15.1, and they have not topped 23 points in any game yet. Baltimore’s defense figures to matter because the Chargers have also struggled to find touchdowns consistently, including a Week 9 surge that ended a long 37-drive drought without a touchdown.

Quarterback Justin Herbert’s season has followed a similar downtrend. The preview from Baltimore’s team notes Herbert has the second-lowest expected points added (EPA) per dropback among quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks, and it also attributes part of the slump to ball security issues. It says Herbert leads the NFL in interceptions with 11 and has thrown at least one pick in each of L.A.’s first eight games, while also being sacked 31 times and taking a career-high eight sacks in a Week 9 loss to Houston.

The Chargers’ weapons have shown flashes, but reliability has been inconsistent. The team preview highlights Ladd McConkey as the club’s best all-around receiver but notes he has dealt with various injuries this season and missed practice time this week. It also cites Tre Harris as the team’s leading receiver with 21 catches and points to a Week 9 touchdown by Quentin Johnston as a key offensive moment.

Defensively, Los Angeles has not generated as many takeaways as it needs, but it has limited opponents enough to stay within striking distance at times. The preview says the Chargers rank 28th in points allowed per game and 20th in yards allowed, while also noting they have 13 sacks and only three players (Tuli Tuipulotu, Khalil Mack, and rookie Akheem Mesidor) with more than one sack. It also adds that opponents have benefited from poor field position, with opposing drives starting at about L.A.’s 37-yard line on average.