The Los Angeles Chargers single-handedly defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-8 Sunday afternoon, rising to 4-3 and jumping to the 7th seed in the AFC Playoff Picture. The Chargers offensive line deserves a ton of credit for winning the game. The O-line did an exceptional job protecting Justin Herbert, as the unit only allowed four pressures, two hurries, one QB hit, and one sack in PFF’s tracking.
One of the main storylines surrounding the game was a controversial play in the first half.
The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback was the victim of a controversial hit
In the second quarter, on 2nd & 8, Justin Herbert dropped back to pass and dumped the ball off to running back J.K. Dobbins as pressure closed in on him. After the play, defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd wrapped his arms around Herbert’s right leg/ankle and twisted him down to the ground. For context, Herbert suffered a high ankle sprain to his right ankle in Week 2 and reinjured his ankle in Week 3. After seeing what he did to his quarterback, center Bradley Bozeman leveled Shepherd and pushed him off of Herbert. Both Bozeman and Shepherd were called for unnecessary roughness penalties.
Saints lineman tries to rip Justin Herbert’s leg clean off.
Bradley Bozeman dispenses some summary justice pic.twitter.com/TqsWEqq23r
— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) October 27, 2024
The Los Angeles Chargers center addressed the controversial hit
Bradley Bozeman had a chance to share his side of the story with reporters during the postgame. Bozeman told the media that Nathan Shepherd’s hit was one of the dirtier hits he’s ever seen. He also expressed the importance of protecting your quarterback and that any offensive lineman would’ve done the same thing.
“It was probably one of the dirtier plays I’ve ever seen,” Bozeman said.
“You protect your quarterback no matter what. And I think any of our offensive linemen that was in my position would’ve done the same thing.”
Justin Herbert praised his center for defending him
“That’s the type of center you want on your team,” Herbert said. “He’ll give everything for this team, and I appreciated what he did. I tried to pull him off so he didn’t get any penalties called, but to have a guy like that defending you, there’s no better feeling.”
It’s great to see the offensive line protecting their quarterback.