The LA Chargers were handed their first loss of the Jim Harbaugh era in Week 3 as the Pittsburgh Steelers won the war of attrition. Los Angeles controlled most of the first half but the Steelers were able to outlast the Bolts after the injuries started to pile up.
The biggest injury was to Justin Herbert, who entered the game battling a high ankle sprain that he suffered the previous week against the Carolina Panthers. Herbert looked like vintage Herbert in the first half but aggravated the injury when Cam Heyward hit his lower right leg. Herbert was removed for Taylor Heinicke.
Now the Chargers are 2-1 with the Kansas City Chiefs on the horizon. Kansas City is the team to beat in the NFL and there is always extra motivation when the Chargers square off against their division foe.
Typically, the Chargers throw everything they have at the Chiefs looking to steal a game against the best team in the AFC West. However, this time, the Chargers need to think about the big picture and do something that most fans would call unthinkable: bench Justin Herbert.
Chargers must be overly cautious with Justin Herbert vs. Chiefs
It can be hard to see the forest for the trees when it is the Chiefs but the Chargers have to think about the big picture and not get wrapped up in a rivalry game against Kansas City. Sure, it would be great to throw everything imaginable at the Chiefs to steal a win early in the season but the Chargers are not in a good situation to do that.
High ankle sprains are finnicky and the slightest hit or wrong movement can aggravate the injury, extending the time it will take Herbert to be back to normal. That was evident on Sunday against the Steelers.
Herbert admitted after the game that he pushed himself to play and that he, "couldn't go anymore." At this rate, the Chargers need to protect their star quarterback from himself.
With a bye week following the Chiefs game, the Chargers need to do what is right by their star quarterback and give him the time off he needs. By doing so, Herbert would go 20 days without any football action, which is probably best for his ankle injury.
Also, as hard as it is to essentially waive the white flag against the Chiefs, fans have to be realistic about this game. The odds of the Chargers beating the Chiefs with a compromised Herbert, especially if he is playing without his starting tackles, is slim to none.
It makes no sense to throw Herbert into the fire and risk further injury in a game where the Chargers have such a slim chance of winning. If the Bolts were fully healthy it would be one thing but that is not the reality the team faces.
Instead, the Chargers need to turn to Taylor Heinicke and hope that he has at least one more big-time performance left in him. It will be a massive uphill battle, but it is not impossible for the Chargers to beat the Chiefs if Heinicke can protect the football and the Bolts can lean on the run game and defense.
The odds of that happening are very slim, but they are almost as slim with a compromised Herbert. Sometimes as a team you have to just take your medicine and move on to the rest of the season.