INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Every NFL team is one quarterback injury away from a dramatic change to the trajectory of its season. Some teams are equipped with quarterback depth to keep its season afloat – at least for a few games – while its starting QB is on the mend.
The Los Angeles Chargers are not one of those teams.
Inept quarterback play has rendered the Chargerstouchdown-less in two preseason games to start the Jim Harbaugh era.
“We not gonna lighten up, we’re gonna tighten up,” Harbaugh said after a bad performance from backup quarterback Easton Stick during the Chargers’ 13-9 exhibition loss to the crosstown rival Los Angeles Rams. “I would like to see another week of improvement from Easton (Stick) that I saw this week. I’m excited to see it. Another good week of practice. Tighten it up.”
Stick had just 31 passing yards and an interception in 13 pass attempts during the Chargers’ preseason opener. The Chargers’ current No. 2 QB followed that performance with a fumble on the 1-yard line, plus an interception near the red zone and multiple errant throws Saturday against the Rams.
We just got to get out of our own way a little bit. Obviously, it starts with me being just cleaner,” Stick admitted. “In this league the margins are so small. You can’t drop a snap at the 1-yard line. You can’t have tipped balls (and) you can’t have penalties. All that stuff, it adds up.”
Stick has sparingly played since he was drafted by the Chargers in 2019. He started in four games to end last year after Justin Herbert went down with a season-ending broken index finger. Stick went 0-4 in those starts. He’s been ushered into the forefront again, albeit in exhibitions, with Herbert sidelined in practices and the preseason due to a plantar fascia injury.
