Chargers take a big franchise swing by allowing Justin Herbert to play against Chiefs

The Los Angeles Chargers needed some good news coming into another weekend. It sounds as if they'll get some on Sunday as they prepare to host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 in a showdown between the two teams most likely to vie for the division title.

This week has been one to forget for L.A. with so many injuries surfacing in the past week. Starting quarterback Justin Herbert has been nursing an ankle spring. Rashawn Slater and Joe. Alt are among the NFL's top tackle tandems in the league and both of them are potentially out with pectoral and knee injuries as well. Even the team's primary backup tackle, Trey Pipkins, is on the injured list.

Of course, this doesn't even cover the hip injury of pass rusher Joey Bosa that's kept him out of practice all week long, and then there's the one-game suspension of safety Derwin James who already tried to appeal and failed.

For all of the injuries facing the Chargers, it sounds as if they'll at least have their starting quarterback in Week 4.

The good news is that at least Herbert is trending upward. The latest reports coming in from multiple sources has Herbert on the mend and feeling better at this stage than some projected. ESPN's Adam Schefter says that despite the injury and the bye week coming next week, the team will start Herbert under center.

The narrative here feels like it will either be a big win or a big loss for the Chargers in more ways than one. If the Chargers are able to hand the Chiefs their first loss of the season, Herbert's ability to lead his team to a win in the face of adversity would go a long way for the Chargers' momentum and hopes in a division they've conceded to the Chiefs for eight consecutive seasons.

On the flip side, it feels like things could turn very dark for Los Angeles. Even if Herbert can go, on Sunday, he's likely going to be running for his life. Steve Spagnuolo of the Chiefs will challenge any weakness up front, and Slater is already designated as "out" while Alt has been downgraded to "doubtful" before the game. Without both bookends, Herbert will have a hard time staving off the Chiefs' pass rush.

If the Chargers lose to the Chiefs, not only did they fail to allow Herbert to fully rest and recuperate for multiple weeks in a row in the face of a rare early bye, but they're also setting him up for greater injury. If Herbert leaves the game early due to hurting his ankle again, much of the post-game fallout will come down to the seemingly irresponsible treatment of the team's quarterback by Harbaugh and his staff.

In short, this is a big swing for the Chargers franchise to allow Herbert to play. If he guts out a victory at home, it's the sort of physical, heroic effort that would help a new head coach establish a shift in culture and organizational identity quicker than expected. If it goes wrong, Harbaugh will look reckless instead of confident and the franchise will face bigger questions depending on how Herbert feels.

On the surface, the move would make so much more sense if there weren't so many other players out already, but no one on the Chargers is going to concede a road victory to Kansas City without a fight and that's understandable. It's just that the rare outbreak of injuries together with the early scheduling of the team's bye week presents an opportunity Harbaugh is refusing to take. Only time will tell how things will play out.