The Broncos path to the No. 1 seed is clear.
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh just made it even more straightforward.
Harbaugh announced Monday that quarterback Justin Herbert will not play Sunday in the regular season finale against Denver.
He also indicated some other starters and key contributors won’t play.
“The guys that have the most bruises and (need the) most healing, we’ll pull them back,” Harbaugh told local reporters.
Both teams have stakes in the game, but the Broncos’ are much higher. They get the No. 1 seed with a win and likely slide to No. 2 or 3 with a loss.
The Chargers are locked into a Wild Card seed somewhere between Nos. 5-7. If they lose, they will be the No. 7 and likely visit No. 2 New England, assuming the Patriots take care of business against 7-9 Miami on Sunday.
Harbaugh decided the upside of perhaps getting to the No. 5 seed, which would mean traveling to face whoever wins the AFC North this weekend between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, was not worth playing Herbert and others.
Broncos inside linebacker Alex Singleton on Monday called Herbert, “one of the best players on the planet.” The quarterback has been on an incredible run the second half of the season, keeping L.A. within striking distance of the Broncos until Saturday when the Chargers lost to Houston. Along the way, though, he’s been battered badly behind an injury decimated offensive line. Herbert had surgery on his left hand but didn’t miss a game.
He was not sacked in Week 16 against Dallas but otherwise has been sacked multiple times in the Chargers’ nine most recent games. That includes games of seven sacks, six, five, five and four. Herbert’s 9.54% sack percentage is by far the highest of his career.
Herbert’s been pressured on 43.3% of his drop-backs this season, the highest rate in the NFL. His 54 sacks are one off the NFL lead, shared by Geno Smith and Cam Ward.
Herbert, Harbaugh and the Chargers are 3-0 against Denver since Harbaugh returned to the NFL for the 2024 season. In Week 3, Herbert mounted game tying and game-winning drives against the Broncos, culminating in a walk-off Cameron Dicker field goal.
L.A.’s backup quarterback is Trey Lance.
In the half hour after Harbaugh’s announcement, the betting line moved from Denver being a 7.5-point favorite to being an 11.5-point favorite.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.