Justin Herbert has a fractured hand, but his chances of playing Monday night are far from broken.
Herbert is projected to have a strong chance of being in the lineup despite the break in his left (non-throwing) hand when his Los Angeles Chargers oppose the Philadelphia Eagles at Inglewood, Calif.
The 27-year-old quarterback sustained the fracture during the first quarter of the Chargers’ 31-14 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders last week. He left the contest and later returned with a cast to protect the hand.
Herbert underwent surgery Monday afternoon, and a plate and multiple screws were inserted into the hand. He was a limited practice participant on Thursday.
“I’m doing everything I can to be out there,” Herbert said. “I’d fight through anything for those guys. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be realistic and listen to the doctors, because they know best. We’ll see how it goes.”
Herbert has passed for 2,842 yards and 21 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, so the Chargers (8-4) certainly want him on the field for the prime-time matchup with the Eagles (8-4).
In fact, Los Angeles offensive coordinator Greg Roman is counting on it.
“For this game in particular, we’re really optimistic Justin is going to play,” Roman said Thursday.
Trey Lance would be the starting quarterback against the Eagles if Herbert can’t play.
Los Angeles began the weekend sitting in the top wild-card spot in a crowded AFC playoff race, two games behind the first-place Denver Broncos in the AFC West.
Philadelphia leads the NFC East but has dropped back-to-back games to lose ground in the hunt for the conference’s top seed.
The Eagles have been outscored 24-6 in the fourth quarter the past two weeks while losing to the Dallas Cowboys (24-21) and the Chicago Bears (24-15).
For the season, Philadelphia has been outscored 84-56 in the final quarter.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he is examining why the team fell into a mini-slump.
“Some of these answers, when you are trying to fix things — it is hard — they aren’t clear,” Sirianni said. “I never feel like when we’ve had a lead we’ve been conservative. Obviously we’re on a two-game losing streak right now. It’s just about getting back to that confidence and that consistency.”
Sirianni said this week that associate head coach Kevin Patullo would remain the offensive play-caller. Patullo’s New Jersey home was pelted with eggs early Saturday morning, hours after the Eagles lost to the Bears.
Star quarterback Jalen Hurts isn’t about to panic over two straight losses. He sees no reason why Philadelphia can’t repeat as Super Bowl champion.
“We’ve got a lot of opportunity in front of us,” Hurts said Thursday. “It takes a tight-knit group, it takes a collective and those are things we can control. You never run from accountability. … There are a lot of things we can improve on and have done well in the past. We just need to be more consistent and get everybody on the same page.”
The Eagles will be without star defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who underwent procedures on both shoulders earlier this week.
Philadelphia offensive tackle Lane Johnson (foot) missed practice on Thursday. Linebackers Zack Baun (hand) and Jaelan Phillips (concussion) and receivers Jahan Dotson (toe) and Xavier Gipson (shoulder) were limited.
Defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (illness) and tight end Tucker Fisk (ankle) were the only Chargers to miss practice due to injury or illness on Thursday. In addition to Herbert, five others were limited: running backs Omarion Hampton (ankle) and Hassan Haskins (hamstring), receiver Quentin Johnston (shoulder) and offensive linemen Trey Pipkins (back) and Jamaree Salyer (shoulder).
