Justin Herbert played as long as he could with an injured ankle but had to come out in the second half with the game tied before the Steelers took over.
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.
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.
