Is Justin Herbert Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Chargers vs. Patriots)

The latest injury update for Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on Sunday night against the New England Patriots.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert sat out the team's Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos, but he expected to play on Sunday night against the New England Patriots in the wild card round.

Herbert has played the last several games with a broken left hand, and the Chargers -- who were already locked into a wild card spot -- decided to rest the star quarterback in Week 18. Now, they have to play the No. 2-seeded Patriots, and oddsmakers at DraftKings have them set as 3.5-point road underdogs.

It's possible that Herbert looks healthier than he has in quite some time, as the Chargers played on Saturday in Week 17 and the star quarterback has not suited up in any game action since, giving him more than two weeks off.

Herbert injured his hand in Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Chargers won that game (the star QB remained in) and then next three games to clinch a wild card spot in the AFC. They did lose to Houston in his last game, but the former first-round pick played well, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 236 yards, one score and one pick (that was a deflection on a drop).

The SI Betting team is high on Herbert in this matchup against the Patriots, so here's a look at our favorite prop for him on Sunday night.

Best Justin Herbert Prop Bet vs. Patriots

Earlier this week, SI Betting's Iain MacMillan shared his favorite props for the wild card action in his Player Prop Countdown column, and he's targeting Herbert to throw multiple scores:

Justin Herbert OVER 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (+115) via BetMGM

I expect Justin Herbert to have a big game on Sunday night against this Patriots' secondary. New England ranks outside the top 10 in virtually every single pass defense metric, despite playing one of the easiest scheduled in NFL history. They've also allowed 1.5 passing touchdowns per game and have the third worst red zone defense, allowing opponents to score a touchdown on 67.5% of red zone trips against them.

It's time for Herbert to have a statement playoff win, and at +115 odds, I think it's a great bet on him to throw for 2+ touchdowns.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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