Two Chargers Ruled Out for Thursday Night Football vs. Broncos

After getting demolished by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, the Los Angeles Chargers are looking to snap their two-game losing streak on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos.

This is a must-win game for the Chargers as they try to keep pace with the Broncos in the AFC playoff race. Los Angeles is currently the seventh seed with an 8-6 record. However, Denver is the sixth seed with a 9-5 record.

Neither the Chargers nor the Broncos have the H2H tiebreaker over Baltimore, as both teams lost to the Ravens. But whatever happens on Thursday night, will go a long way in figuring out who will make the playoffs.

The Chargers head into this pivotal Week 16 matchup relatively healthy as they only have four players listed as questionable and doubtful. However, Los Angeles will not have veteran tight end Will Dissly or cornerback Cam Hart, who were both ruled out on Wednesday, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic.

Dissly missed last week’s game against the Buccaneers with a shoulder injury and did not practice this week. 

Without Dissly in the starting lineup, Los Angeles hopes to have Hayden Hurst back, whose 21-day practice window was activated on Tuesday. But if Hurst cannot play, we should expect to see Stone Smartt featured in the passing game.

The 26-year-old Smartt was the Chargers' second-leading receiver last week, with five receptions (six targets) for 50 yards.

As for Hart, the rookie cornerback sustained a concussion in the Chargers’ Week 15 home loss to the Buccaneers. The young defensive back suffered the injury in the second quarter as he tried to defend a deep pass against Mike Evans.

The Chargers will likely turn to third-year Ja’Sir Taylor, who replaced Hart in last week’s game. This season, Taylor has 20 combined tackles, five pass deflections, and a fumble recovery in 12 games (two starts).

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