The Los Angeles Chargers could be without one of their top offensive weapons and two key defensive players when they play host to the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Receiver Keenan Allen was added to the team’s injury report Saturday because of illness and is listed as questionable. Under the NFL’s injury terminology, a player listed as questionable means it is uncertain whether he will play.
Allen fully participated in Wednesday through Friday’s practices.
The Chargers placed reserve cornerback Brandon Facyson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, one day after he missed practice because of illness.
It was not immediately clear whether Facyson had tested positive for the coronavirus. A player does not have to test positive to be placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. Players who have been in close contact with an infected person may also be placed on the list.
Facyson was listed Friday as questionable for Sunday’s game because of illness. He fully participated in Wednesday and Thursday’s practices.
Defensive end Joey Bosa is listed as doubtful because of a concussion suffered in last Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Denver Broncos that forced him to miss Wednesday though Friday’s practices. A player listed as doubtful is unlikely to play.
Bosa leads the Chargers with 4.5 sacks and quarterback hits with 13.
Bosa’s backup, Isaac Rochell is questionable because of a neck injury.
Starting cornerback Casey Hayward missed Friday’s practice for what the team described as a “non-injury related” reason and is questionable.
The injuries and illnesses prompted the Chargers to sign rookie defensive end Jessie Lemonier from the practice squad and activate running back Kalen Ballage and defensive back Quenton Meeks from the practice squad.
Lemonier played in three games for the Chargers this season.
Meeks played in eight games, starting one, for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018. He spent most of the 2019 season on the Chargers’ practice squad.
Ballage played 12 games for the Miami Dolphins in both 2018 and 2019 and three games for the Chargers this season. He has rushed for 339 yards.
Allen ranks sixth in the NFL in receptions with 53, 16th in receiving yards with 548 and first in third-down receiving yards with 207. He has been a Pro Bowl selection each of the past three seasons.
Facyson has played as a reserve in all seven of the Chargers’ games this season. He has played in 38 consecutive games dating back to 2018, matching the fourth-longest active streak among NFL cornerbacks.
Facyson made the Chargers squad as an undrafted rookie out of Virginia Tech in 2018. He has played in every game since being inactive for the 2018 season opener as a healthy scratch.
The Chargers (2-5) have lost five of their past six games and eight straight against AFC West opponents dating back to last season. All of the Chargers’ 2020 losses have been by seven points or fewer. They are 1-5 this season and 3-14 since the start of last season in one-score games.
Four of their losses have come after taking a double-digit lead and three after leading by at least 17 points.
The Raiders (4-3) are coming off a 16-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, the first time they held an opponent without a touchdown since Dec. 16, 2012.
The Chargers are second in the NFL in yards per game, 417.1, while Las Vegas allows 377.9 yards per game, 21st in the league.
The Chargers also began last season 2-5, then won two straight but ended the season by losing six of their last seven to finish 5-11. The last time they started a season worse then 2-5 was 2015 when they lost eight of their first 10 games during a 4-12 season.