The Los Angeles Chargers hit on a worst-case scenario with the Justin Herbert injury ahead of the NFL playoffs.
A Herbert injury almost felt inevitable, too, which is about as unfortunate as it gets. Before the bye week, the Chargers star had left games two weeks in a row with issues before returning. The offensive line, which has battled injuries of its own, just wasn’t doing enough to protect him.
After the bye, Herbert suffered the fracture in his hand against the Las Vegas Raiders and underwent surgery on the Monday after the win.
That, before a critical end-of-season stretch in which the Chargers really can’t afford to lose a game. Understandably, the predictable continues to get national attention.
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Chargers’ playoff hopes dashed by Justin Herbert injury?
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
From a national perspective, the Chargers might already be dead in the water.
When asked which injury around the NFL has the biggest playoff race implications, ESPN’s Dan Graziano pointed right at the Chargers:
“Also, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had surgery Monday to repair a fracture in his left (non-throwing) hand. He has said he plans to play Monday night against the Eagles, but we will see how much he can practice in advance of that game (if at all) and whether that will affect his performance if he does play. The Chargers are in the middle of an extremely tough, cluttered AFC wild-card race and are two games behind the Broncos in the AFC West.”
“It all comes down to the doctors. I’ve got a lot of things hanging on the wall here but a medical degree is not one of them.”@colincowherd and @chargers HC Jim Harbaugh discuss Justin Herbert’s status after undergoing hand surgery pic.twitter.com/LxXKc5ptSz
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 2, 2025
It’s hard to disagree, though Daniel Jones playing through a fibula injury with the Indianapolis Colts is a big issue, too.
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Either way, the Chargers have themselves to blame here. They started the season 3-0 while sweeping the AFC West, only to drop games against bad New York, Washington and Jacksonville teams.
Now, the Chargers finish the season against Philadelphia, Dallas and Houston, plus AFC West encounters with Kansas City and Denver.
Herbert will attempt to play through the issue after surgery, but his practice reps will be impacted. So will the predictability of the offense if he can’t go under center. The fact the Chargers are prepping backup Trey Lance for short-yardage situations sort of says it all.
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