Chargers takeaways: Injuries force Jim Harbaugh into backup mode

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PITTSBURGH — The Chargers lost several starters to injury, including quarterback Justin Herbert, in a 20-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Herbert left the arena in a walking boot after reinjuring his right ankle while absorbing a sack during the third quarter.

With AFC West rival Kansas City next, what we learned about the Chargers:

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Taylor Heinicke is the next man up

Chargers quarterback Taylor Heinicke hands off the ball to Gus Edwards

This is why Taylor Heinicke is here.

The Chargers traded a conditional sixth-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for the 10-year veteran knowing they needed to upgrade their backup quarterback in the event Herbert was injured. The moment no one was waiting for came Sunday.

With just 24 days of experience with the organization, Heinicke entered the game in the third quarter and completed both of his pass attempts for 24 yards, but was sacked three times behind an offensive line that lost starting left tackle Rashawn Slater to a pectoral injury.

“Wish we would have given him a little more time there to operate, but I was pleased with his performance,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Heinicke. “He’s a competitor. Competitors are welcome here at the Los Angeles Chargers.”

Incumbent backup Easton Stick had a head start on the scheme by playing in all three preseason games, but Heinicke caught up by burying his head in the playbook for three weeks. The system was so complicated that he struggled to even say a play out loud at first.

He was inactive for the first two games while still getting up to speed. Then Heinicke started taking the majority of practice reps by the end of last week when Herbert was limited in training, helping him comfortably lead the offense despite the mid-game injury.

Although Harbaugh immediately dismisses any “what if” questions, Heinicke has had to live in the hypothetical for a decade. The longtime backup has made a career out of preparing just in case and is prepared to do it again as Herbert monitors the high ankle sprain.

“We’ll see how this week goes,” Heinicke said.

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Don’t get carried away with rebuild just yet

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, center, reacts during the second half of Sunday's game.

Since Mike Tomlin became the Steelers head coach in 2007, the Chargers have had five permanent head coaches, one interim and two home cities. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman half-joked this week that the Steelers have been running the same base defense since 1991.

That’s culture.

And that’s something the Chargers are still aspiring to right now.

Harbaugh has emphasized hard work and details while trying to change the narrative of a franchise that has spent years seemingly inventing creative, yet agonizing ways to lose.

Running back J.K. Dobbins said after the Week 1 win that the Chargers earned their confidence in close games through their hard work during training camp, saying, “We ain’t gonna beat ourselves.”

Yet Sunday, the defense committed three penalties on one drive. The Steelers turned the 34 free yards into the tiebreaking field goal. Missed tackles started to pile up the same way as the Steelers ran for 100 of their 114 yards rushing in the second half.

“It’s credit-card difference, the margin,” Harbaugh said. “I thought we were right there, back and forth. [The game] was where we thought it would be, and we didn’t get it done at the end there.”

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Offensive line shuffle

Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater had to leave the game because of an injury

It wasn’t just Herbert’s injury that set the offense back. Slater’s injury could be almost as important because of the offensive line’s role in not only protecting the franchise quarterback but also in the running game that drives the Chargers offense.

Slater, a 2021 second-team All-Pro tackle, was Pro Football Focus’ second-rated tackle after two games. He was not on the sideline for the end of the first half and left for good during the third quarter soon after giving up a strip-sack to Nick Herbig and jumping on the ball to maintain possession for the Chargers.

On the next drive, Trey Pipkins III was at left tackle and Jamaree Salyer lined up at right guard. On the first play behind the reshuffled line, Herbert took the sack that ultimately knocked him out of the game.

“At the end of the day, we gotta get better, no matter what the circumstances are,” Pipkins said. “We all know that wasn’t our standard.”

Pipkins transitioned from right tackle to right guard this season with the addition of first-round draft pick Joe Alt. Although moving Pipkins outside prompted two changes to the line instead of a one-for-one substitution of Salyer — who started 14 games at left tackle as a rookie in 2022 after Slater was injured — the Chargers made the decision because Pipkins was simply the team’s third tackle, Harbaugh said.

Alt also was seen limping off the field late in the game.