The Los Angeles Chargers will rest their star players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, in their final regular season game. This leads to an explosive situation.

The Los Angeles Chargers have made a surprising decision for their last regular season game: star quarterback Justin Herbert will not play in the match against the Denver Broncos.

Instead, backup Trey Lance will start, as head coach Jim Harbaugh announced on Monday. This marks Lance’s first start in an NFL game since his time with the San Francisco 49ers.

Los Angeles Chargers want to rest Herbert’s broken hand

Herbert has been playing with a fracture in his left hand since Week 13. Despite the injury, he continued to play in recent weeks and put in strong performances, most recently throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown in the latest game against the Houston Texans, in which he was also his team’s leading rusher with 37 rushing yards.

However, the Texans sacked him five times, which visibly exacerbated his pain. Harbaugh emphasized that the decision was primarily based on protecting the players: “Winning and health – those are our two goals. The doctors, coaches, and organization have decided that some of the players with the most injuries need this break.”

DJ Uiagalelei from the practice squad will be promoted as Lance’s backup. Herbert, who was recently selected to his second Pro Bowl, finishes his sixth season with 3,727 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also added a strong 498 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground.

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The Chargers missed out on the AFC West title after losing to the Texans and have already qualified for the playoffs, with the game against Denver only affecting their seeding – a win could see them climb to fifth place.

Harbaugh dismissed speculation that this move was related to tactical considerations about potential playoff opponents and reiterated, “Health and winning—that’s all. We’re playing on the road in the first round, and any opponent would be tough.”

Los Angeles Chargers: Explosive playoff constellation

Nevertheless, the game is hugely tense, as a win for the Broncos would secure them the top seed in the AFC.

The game takes on particular significance due to its impact on the AFC playoff landscape: if the Chargers lose in Denver, the New England Patriots would no longer have a chance at the number one seed in the AFC, as the Broncos would secure it based on their better record against AFC teams.

At the same time, if the Patriots (against the Miami Dolphins) and Buffalo Bills (against the New York Jets) win their respective games, the Chargers would have to play the Patriots, whom they would presumably have previously denied the top seed, in the first round of the playoffs.