He played through fractured rib cartilage two years ago; a broken left finger last year. But Justin Herbert couldn’t play through this.
The Chargers’ dream start chipped away into a nightmare as their star quarterback re-aggravated a right ankle injury in a 20-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) on Sunday in front of 66,734 at Acrisure Stadium.
Testing their undefeated record against their first playoff opponent from the previous season, the Chargers (2-1) left Pittsburgh battered and bruised with key injuries on both sides of the ball.
“Not every game’s gonna be a fairy tale ending,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Worse than losing a glass slipper, the Chargers gained a walking boot. Herbert left the arena with his right foot in a gray protective boot after getting sacked twice while throwing for 125 yards and one touchdown on 12 of 18 passing before Taylor Heinicke entered in relief.
Herbert said he got X-rays on his ankle and will await further testing this week with hopes of playing next week at SoFi Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Harbaugh didn’t have updates about injuries to left tackle Rashawn Slater (pectoral) and edge rusher Joey Bosa (hip). Bosa was injured on the first defensive play of the game.
Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa after the first defensive play against the Steelers.
(Matt Freed / Associated Press)
Herbert initially suffered the high right ankle sprain during last week’s win against the Carolina Panthers. After missing two of three days of practice this week, the former Oregon Ducks star said he started to feel better during Saturday’s walk-through.
Harbaugh saw how much better his quarterback was moving and felt Herbert could at least protect himself on the field, which made him comfortable enough to allow Herbert to test himself during warm-ups Sunday.
But they made an agreement. Harbaugh would make a change at the first sign of distress.
“Warriors,” Harbaugh said, “you give them a shot.”
Herbert completed nine consecutive passes to begin the game as the Chargers clung to a 10-7 lead at halftime, but Herbert could feel his ankle getting worse throughout the game.
After avoiding major hits during the first half, Herbert got swallowed up on a strip sack by Nick Herbig on the second play of the third quarter’s second drive.
Slater, who was among the top-rated offensive linemen in the league, was injured on the play while securing the fumble. Behind a patchwork offensive line that moved right guard Trey Pipkins III to left tackle and inserted backup Jamaree Salyer at guard, Herbert got sacked again to begin the next drive.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked by Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts with help from Cameron Heyward (97).
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
As he rose off the ground, Herbert knew he couldn’t continue.
“My responsibility as a quarterback is to give everything that I can to this team, to my teammates and I felt like I did that,” Herbert said. “I had a tough time walking on it, moving on it, pushing off of it, and I knew that Taylor gave us a better shot to win.”
Heinicke completed both of his pass attempts for 24 yards, including a 18-yard completion on third-and-two in the fourth quarter, but was sacked three times. The Steelers held the Chargers to minus-five yards of offense in the second half. The running game was quiet as the NFL’s leading rusher J.K. Dobbins picked up just 44 yards on 15 attempts.
“It’s hard to move the ball against those guys,” said Heinicke, who learned the playbook in three weeks to usurp incumbent backup Easton Stick after joining the team in a post-training camp trade. “You have to be perfect. Can’t hurt yourself.”
Quarterback Taylor Heinicke (8), shown handing the ball off to running back Gus Edwards, made his first appearance as a Charger.
(Matt Freed / Associated Press)
The Chargers defense that starred during the first two wins wilted against the Steelers, who racked up 234 yards in the second half with 100 of their 114 rushing yards coming after halftime. Missed tackles prolonged plays. Immediately after Herbert left as the offense was hoping for help in a 10-10 game, the defense dug a deeper hole by committing three penalties on the same drive.
An unnecessary roughness penalty on Derwin James Jr., roughing the passer on Khalil Mack and defensive holding on Asante Samuel Jr. all occurred on third downs. The Steelers turned the mistakes into a field-goal drive to take the lead.
“It was like a triple effect,” James said. “We just gotta be clean.”
Steelers quarterback Justin Fields cemented the win with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 7:02 remaining. Fields, who joined the Steelers after a rocky tenure as a former first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, threw for 245 yards and one touchdown on 25 of 32 passing and scored on a five-yard touchdown run.
Despite his noticeable limp, Herbert still walked to midfield to greet Fields after the game. Herbert then slowly walked across the field and up the tunnel, high-fiving one fan on the way.
