The Los Angeles Chargers started the season strong at 3-0, looking like Super Bowl contenders. But after losing 38-24 to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, they’ve dropped to 4-3 and don’t look as dominant. Quarterback Justin Herbert spoke after the game about his two interceptions.

When asked postgame what went wrong on those throws, Herbert gave a rather blunt answer. “One got tipped, and one, the other guy made a good play. We were down trying to make plays, and we missed,” he said.

Looking at the box score, it’s hard to put this loss on Herbert. He completed 37 of 55 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns, plus ran six times for 31 yards. Quarterbacks don’t usually lose games with that kind of stat line.

His 420 passing yards set a new career high, topping the 405 he put up last year against the Vikings, and those 37 completions? That’s now a single-game franchise record. Most of that damage came after halftime, when Herbert connected for all three of his touchdowns: one each to Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, and Oronde Gadsden.

Still, those two first-half picks dug the Chargers into a 23–3 hole they couldn’t climb out of, no matter how hot Herbert got late. The Colts scored on four of their first five drives, three of those ending in touchdowns. The Chargers’ offense needed to match them score for score just to stay in it, but those turnovers swung the momentum.

The first came in the second quarter when defensive tackle Grover Stewart batted a Herbert pass straight up in the air and caught it himself for his first career interception. The second one cost more. It was deep in the red zone.

Herbert tried to hit Quentin Johnston in the end zone, but threw it just behind him. Colts safety Nick Cross jumped it and made him pay. But well, it didn’t help that he was under pressure all night.

Chargers’ OL woes continue

Similar to how it’s panned out in every game so far, Justin Herbert was under siege all night. He got hit 15 times. That’s three times more than how much Daniel Jones got hit. Herbert was also sacked thrice. That’s been the story of the Chargers’ season so far: Herbert taking hit after hit behind an injury-riddled offensive line.

Still, he stood by his linemen afterward. “That’s football,” he said. “That’s part of the job. We threw the ball a lot today and that’s going to happen. The offensive line is doing an incredible job battling and I can always get the ball out quicker.” But the OL has been struggling all season. Safe to say, it’s time to ring the alarm bells.

Justin Herbert’s now been sacked 15 times this year, and the line just can’t stay healthy. With starters Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt already out, backup lineman Austin Deculus had to leave the game multiple times with an injury, forcing yet another shuffle up front.

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Guard Mekhi Becton also got banged up but pulled through it and came back. Alt was back at practice last week but didn’t suit up against Indy.

The Chargers’ ground game was pretty much nonexistent: just 54 yards on 16 carries. At this point, their best hope is that Joe Alt can get back on the field next week against the Titans and give Herbert some breathing room. Because if he keeps taking this much punishment, no amount of record-setting passing numbers will be enough to save this team.