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EL SEGUNDO — Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert did the difficult thing and maybe the smart thing, too, when he sat out of the team’s practice to rest a sore left ankle and leg on Wednesday, injuries suffered during a 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. His status for Thursday’s and Friday’s practices wasn’t immediately certain.
The Chargers (8-5) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) on Sunday.
“If I felt like I could have practiced at 100% and made sure everyone was getting the full-speed rep, then I definitely would have,” said Herbert, who indicated the ankle injury was the more debilitating of the two. “The trainers didn’t feel like I was able to do that, so we were all on the same page.”
Coach Jim Harbaugh would have preferred that Herbert rest and recover from two injuries suffered on separate plays Sunday. Herbert said he sprained his left ankle after a 7-yard scramble on a third-down play on the Chargers’ first possession. He went to the bench and had his ankle re-taped.
Later, Herbert was sidelined for one play after taking an awkward hit from Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton in the second quarter that resulted in a contusion to his left leg. Backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke replaced Herbert for a third-down play, a 12-yard scramble. Herbert then returned to the field for the next possession.
“A lot of times he goes out there and it’s good for him,” Harbaugh said of Herbert, a renowned lover of practice. “He’s one of those types of guys that football is the treatment, is the medicine. I get that. I get that. Medicine is out here on the practice field, in the weight room, in the training room. I know this, he’ll do anything and everything in his power to play on Sunday. I’ve seen it over and over. A lesser man wouldn’t do some of the things he does. He’s a beast.”
Herbert rebounded from a lackluster first half that had little to do with his injuries to lead the Chargers to scores on each of their three possessions in the second half. Gus Edwards ran 3 yards for a touchdown. Herbert threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston. Cameron Dicker kicked a field goal.
By the end of the game, Herbert had completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown. He extended his streak of games without an interception to 11 and his string of pass attempts without an interception to a franchise-record 335 in a row, the fifth-longest in NFL history.
Herbert’s ratio of 14 touchdowns to one interception with a minimum of 300 passing attempts is tied for the highest in NFL history with Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who had similar statistics in 2016. Herbert’s lone interception came in a victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.
“Skill more than luck,” Harbaugh said of Herbert’s streak. “Way more skill than luck.”
Herbert said he was unaware of the length of his streak.
Or that the NFL record is 402 attempts without an interception by Aaron Rodgers during the 2018 season.
CONFIDENCE REGAINED?
Johnston caught five passes for 48 yards and one touchdown, shaking off a couple of hard hits in the process during Sunday’s game against Kansas City. Order restored? Crisis averted? Harbaugh didn’t see it that way after Johnston’s apparent bounce-back game against the Chiefs.
Johnston hadn’t caught more than two passes in any of his previous four games, including a game in which he failed to catch any of five passes thrown his way during the Chargers’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12. Johnston had a couple of significant drops in the game against the Ravens.
“I’ve seen his confidence, his resolve, everything about him has been at a high,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been ready to go every week. He’s been a very durable player, a strong player. He’s been a very productive player. A lesser man probably wouldn’t have done it. Goes across the middle. Big hit like that. Bounces right back up.
“Pretty cool.”
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