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The Los Angeles Chargers, standing with a shocking 0-3 record, will head to Seattle to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. The Chargers are dealing with substantial injuries across their roster and will marching into Lumen Field with a sense of desperation with going 0-4 being a near-fatal blow to their season.
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The Chargers offense has been a letdown at this point of the season with a massive miscalculation by the coaching staff leading to the entire offense taking a step back in performance. The Chargers defense on the other hand have made adjustments and defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary showed advanced game planning and adjustments to give Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills a serious and at times overwhelming challenge.
Heading into this Week 4 matchup there are several storylines that are critical to monitor if the Chargers have any chance at taking down the Seahawks in front of their home crowd. Let’s dive into this must win game for Los Angeles.
Can Justin Herbert calm down?
It is no secret that Justin Herbert has not looked comfortable in Mike McDaniel’s offense to start the season. The entire offense is out of rhythm and plagued by procedural penalties and hamstrung by execution errors.
Herbert in prior years was a machine at progressing through his reads, so much so that a common criticism he received was that he progressed through his reads too quickly. Now, reading the field and going through his progressions does not look natural or comfortable for the Chargers franchise signal caller.
The Seahawks defense, with head coach Mike Macdonald, deploys the same defense that the Chargers do at its core. Macdonald and Chargers previous defensive coordinator Jesse Minter both run defensive systems from the same tree and O’Leary is the new embodiment of the tree in Los Angeles.
Just as Jesse Minter’s defense used to excel at keeping everything in front of them, Seattle’s defense has a similar trademark. The Seahawks will give up underneath throws and rally to the ball carrier and will prevent anything getting behind the back of their coverage. Can Justin Herbert find enough rhythm and timing to attack underneath and be patient?
The Seahawks also have a banged-up safety room that the Chargers could set up for a deep shot here and there but it should not be a part of the gameplan. Ladd McConkey is questionable to play Sunday, Justin Hebert will have to show patience with the rest of the receivers underneath.
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Can the Chargers banged up secondary slow down Jaxon Smith-Njigba?
The Chargers had a glaring hole entering the season in the cornerback room. It was clear and obvious to everyone that if one of the top three cornerbacks went down, it could create a problem with only special teams ace Deane Leonard and undrafted rookie Rodney Shelley on the 53-man roster.
Cornerback Donte Jackson is in concussion protocol and it is unclear whether he will be able to play. With Jackson out, Rodney Shelley entered the game and played significant snaps last week and had several rookie mistakes. Shelley should be better prepared this week, getting extra practice snaps with Jackson sidelined. But the Seahawks deploy arguably a top-three receiver in the NFL in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
How Chris O’Leary navigates the gameplan to slow down Seattle’s passing attack will be critical with multiple safeties dealing with injuries as well. The Seahawks ruled out their first-round draft pick running back Jadarian Price for the game against the Chargers, limiting Seattle’s rushing attack.
How will Mike McDaniel prevent a massacre on the interior of the offensive line?
The Chargers’ interior offensive line has not been playing well. It’s hard to hang blame on a rookie center with Jake Slaughter being forced to step into the starting lineup just weeks before the start of the season when Tyler Biadasz went down for before the second preseason game. But the Chargers are on their fifth option at left guard and their right guard has the third-worst PFF offensive grade in the NFL among guards.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Seahawks have a ferocious defensive front that is as deep as it is talented. The matchup on paper looks terrible for the Chargers. How will Mike McDaniel get the most of out of the offense or can he? The Chargers will likely challenge the Seahawks perimeter defenders with the run and pepper them with short passes and screens. More importantly, the pocket will have to move for Justin Herbert, the interior simply will not be able to hold up for very long against the Seahawks interior rush.
Today’s best reads
- Chargers Week 3 Mailbag: Potential Moves, Herbert’s Footwork and Offensive Identity
- 3 Storylines I’m Watching Most in Chargers Week 3 Matchup Against the Buffalo Bills
- Grading Every Chargers Position Group After Week 3 Collapse vs. Bills
- The Biggest Decision Mike McDaniel Got Wrong Against the Raiders and How to Fix it
- Mike McDaniel Hands Bills the Game as Chargers Offense Fails Spectacularly to Deliver
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as 3 Storylines I’m Watching Most in Chargers’ Week 4 Matchup vs. Seahawks.
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This story was originally published October 3, 2026 at 6:30 AM.