During Sunday’s Los Angeles Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, Justin Herbert was the victim of a dirty play.
Halfway through the second quarter, Herbert was under pressure on a 2nd-and-8 play and had to dump a short ball off to JK Dobbins, the running back for the Chargers. Long after the quarterback had released the ball, Nathan Shepherd, a defensive tackle for the Saints, sought to make a low tackle on Herbert and kept bending his leg.
When Shepherd grabbed Herbert’s right leg and pushed him to the ground, Chargers center Bradley Bozeman slammed into Shepherd in retaliation.
On the play, Shepherd and Bozeman were given compensatory personal fouls. Bozeman scolded Shepherd for what seemed to be a flagrant cheap shot following the Chargers’ 26-8 victory over the Saints.
Yes, Bozeman said to reporters, “It was certainly one of the dirtier plays I have ever seen, especially with my own eyes.” “To believe that he is still gator-rolling after the ball has been gone for two to three seconds and that he is still on the ground.” Just keep your quarterback safe at all costs, you know. Any other offensive lineman in that circumstance, in my opinion, would have taken the same course of action. I had to remove him from him, and I succeeded.
Shepherd’s only defense would be that he believed Herbert still possessed the ball, even though it should have been quite clear that Herbert had already thrown the pass.
The NFL will probably examine the play to see whether they think Shepherd intended to do harm. At the very least, a fine appears inevitable.
