J.K. Dobbins' stellar comeback season has hit a snag.
The Chargers running back suffered a knee sprain in Monday night's 30-23 loss to the Ravens and is expected to miss some time, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday, per sources. Dobbins will be out this week against the Falcons, and his availability will be up in the air after that, Rapoport added.
Dobbins, who signed with Los Angeles over the offseason after four injury-riddled years with Baltimore, was on pace for a career season -- and in some cases had already eclipsed his best numbers from previous seasons.
Soon to be 26, Dobbins has 766 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 158 carries with the Chargers, good for a 4.8 yards-per-carry average. He's been excellent providing quarterback Justin Herbert a safety valve in the passing game, too, as he's already enjoyed career highs with 28 catches and 134 receiving yards in 2024.
He was again making a difference before exiting Monday night's affair. He rumbled to 40 rushing yards on six carries and tallied 19 receiving yards on three receptions in the first half before exiting following his final touch, which took place with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
At that point, his Chargers were leading, 10-7.
But the Ravens scored before half to take the lead in Dobbins' absence and never looked back, stifling a Chargers operation that became diminished and one-dimensional without its primary back. Over the second two frames, L.A. managed just 110 total yards, with 63 coming on the final drive, down 14, aided by multiple pass-interference penalties and throwing against a Baltimore D playing cautious to protect a big lead.
That Dobbins' latest setback came against his former team, for which he missed all of 2021 with a torn ACL and half of 2022 with another knee injury before tearing his Achilles in Week 1 of 2023, is a bitter pill.
The 7-4 Chargers currently sit in sixth place in the AFC with an 86% chance of making the playoffs. Over the next four weeks, they face the Falcons (6-5), Chiefs (10-1), Buccaneers (5-6) and Broncos (7-5). Their schedule softens somewhat after that with matchups against the three-win Patriots and two-win Raiders, but it appears L.A. will have to play some of its toughest remaining games sans Dobbins.
Gus Edwards should taken on the lion's share of carries, with rookie Kimani Vidal available as a pass catcher and Hassan Haskins also in the rotation.
Assuming Los Angeles is still able to hold serve, Dobbins will look to shake off his latest injury in time to finish the push for the playoffs, followed by a hopeful January run.
