Chargers’ Justin Herbert leaves the game with significant leg injury

The Los Angeles Chargers are on a roll, but they are now dealing with an injury to star quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert took a massive shot and appeared to have injured his leg.

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Herbert cautiously departed and has since been replaced by Taylor Heinicke.

Herbert immediately went to the touchline and was seen walking, although he was moving very slowly due to the leg injury he sustained. After a replay of the blow, it appears that his left thigh may be the affected area. Either way, losing Herbert in such an important game will be hard to deal with.

The Chargers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in an important divisional game. While the Chiefs are certainly trying to extend their lead in the AFC, Los Angeles is trying to maintain their top spot in the AFC wildcard.

The Chargers entered Sunday Night Football with an 8-4 record. A win against the Chiefs would extend their record to 9-4 and be one game ahead of No. 6 seed Baltimore Ravens.

As mentioned, Kansas City is looking to secure their 12th win of the season. The Chiefs would move to 12-1 and be two games ahead of the Buffalo Bills no. 2. The Bills lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the highest scoring game of the season.

Despite the loss, the Bills are still one of the most talented teams in the AFC. Quarterback Josh Allen became the first player to secure three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a single game in their loss to the Rams.

Simply put, the AFC is stacked with talented teams, and the Chargers moving forward without Herbert for any length of time would be detrimental to their efforts to remain relevant in the AFC playoffs.

Heinicke stepped in for the injured Herbert, but the Chargers also have Easton Stick as the team’s third emergency quarterback. Stick did well enough in 2023 when Herbert underwent season-ending surgery.

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Herbert is as tough as they come, and the good news is that he appeared to be seriously injured just before halftime on Sunday Night Football. The hope is that he can return to the field sooner rather than later. However, he has already dealt with several leg injuries this season.

For now, Herbert will remain on the sidelines and will probably try to come back after the break.

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