Chargers Lose Pro Bowl OT Joe Alt for Sunday's Clash with Broncos

The Los Angeles Chargers are officially down their best bodyguard. Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Alt is expected to miss this Sunday’s divisional clash against the Denver Broncos with a neck injury.

Losing your franchise tackle is bad enough. Losing him to a neck issue right before facing a division rival is the kind of news that makes a quarterback's internal clock speed up by a full second before the ball is even snapped.

"Ian Rapoport reports there are no plans to place Joe Alt on Injured Reserve."

According to Ian Rapoport, Alt is still rehabbing the injury he suffered during last week's 30-23 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The silver lining here is that the team currently has no plans to place him on Injured Reserve.

That IR detail is a massive sigh of relief for Los Angeles, meaning this is likely a short-term absence rather than a season-altering disaster. Still, "short-term" does not help them block anyone this weekend.

Without Alt anchoring the edge, the entire geometry of the Chargers' offense changes. Denver's defensive front suddenly gets a much softer target to attack, which completely alters how you have to look at this game from a matchup perspective.

If you are scanning the betting markets, this is the exact type of trench downgrade that shifts game scripts. Denver's pass rush becomes a lot more dangerous, and the pressure on the Chargers to get the ball out quickly goes through the roof.

Los Angeles now has to figure out a patch job on the offensive line before Sunday. If they cannot keep the pocket clean against the Broncos, it is going to be a very long, very bruised afternoon for the backfield.