Justin Herbert is finally receiving a much-needed week off.
The Chargers will not play their star quarterback in Week 18's road matchup against the Broncos, coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday. Backup Trey Lance is expected to start in Herbert's place.
"He's got bruises that need to heal," Harbaugh said of Herbert.
The coach isn't wrong: Herbert could use some time on the sideline. The quarterback has spent most of the 2025 season behind a patchwork offensive line and has felt the consequences, taking a career-high 54 sacks in 16 games -- a total that exceeded his previous career-high mark by 13 in one less game.
Given the circumstances he's been handed in Los Angeles this season and the fashion in which he's frequently carried the Chargers' offense, 2025 has arguably been one of his best seasons of his career. Herbert has managed to thrive despite being under constant assault, posting a 94.1 passer rating and throwing for 3,727 yards (a top nine total among all qualified passers entering Week 18) and 26 touchdowns (13 interceptions). He's taken five-plus sacks in five games this season and won four of them. If that isn't impressive enough, Herbert has also played through a surgically repaired broken left hand over the last month and shown zero fear for his safety, completing 75 of 116 passes for 885 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for 145 yards and a touchdown during this span.
In the Chargers' Week 17 loss to Houston, the theme proved true once again. Herbert completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown and also led the Chargers in rushing with 37 yards on six scramble attempts. Without him, it's fair to wonder if the Chargers could have competed at all against the NFL's best defense.
With the AFC West title now out of reach, there's little reason to risk Herbert's health in Week 18. However, there is plenty on the line for the Broncos, who would earn the AFC's No. 1 seed with a win over the Chargers.
All that's left to determine for the Chargers is where they will land in the conference's final playoff seeding, a result Harbaugh would prefer to leave up to the football gods.
"There's no way to predict," Harbaugh said of playoff positioning. "We're going on the road first round. All potential teams will be good and we'll get ourselves ready for that."