Houston Texans may face Chargers’ backups as COVID hits L.A.’s stars

The recent COVID-19 outbreak continues to ravage the NFL.

As the Houston Texans had their fair share of COVID-19 cases last week, and now the Los Angeles Chargers unfortunately had some of their best players test positive for COVID-19. Earlier today, three of Los Angeles’ best players went on the COVID list, and they are:

• Center Corey Linsley
• Outside linebacker Joey Bosa
• Running back Austin Ekeler

According to Chargers beat writer Daniel Popper on Twitter, more names expected to be on that list could put the Chargers on an uphill battle. Houston did take advantage of injuries to upset the Titans earlier this year, most notably Derrick Henry missing the game. They forced Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill into throwing four interceptions, a significant component of their stunning win.

Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. and safety Alohi Gilman are also listed as “out” for this week’s game per ESPN. First-round draft pick Rashawn Slater has also missed time in recent weeks as well due to COVID.  Could the Houston Texans play spoiler and strike a big blow in Los Angeles’ playoff hopes?

The Houston Texans must be prepared for a fight, no matter who is on the field

This Chargers team can still rack up the yards with Justin Herbert healthy. The backup for Ekeler would be former Northwestern running back Justin Jackson, who had a great run and performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in his rookie season in 2018.

Joshua Kelley would be the guy behind Jackson if Ekeler cannot play on Sunday. The receiving corps is as potent as ever, with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams leading the way. There’s a reason the Chargers are in the spot that they are and their depth is the reason why. Let’s hope that these players mentioned above stay healthy and recover quickly.

We’ll see what Houston can do against this powerful team regardless of who is playing come Sunday.