Chargers Injury Report: New Gory Intel Revealed On Justin Herbert's Fractured Finger

Your Los Angeles Chargers' Week 4 win against the Las Vegas Raiders was marred by a major issue in hindsight: JC Jackson "refusing" to go into the game.

While that detail was revealed just recently by LA GM Tom Telesco, leading him to call the move "a swing and a miss," another detail was also revealed that adds a lot of explanation to what's been up with the Chargers' offense recently.

Per ESPN's Kris Rhim:

"In [Week 4], quarterback Justin Herbert played with a fractured left middle finger, an injury in which Herbert's bone punctured his skin. Herbert didn't miss any snaps. The juxtaposition of those moments was the final straw for the Chargers, according to team sources."

This gory detail illustrates the magnitude of Herbert's injury, and thus operates as a potential outlet for reason as to why the Chargers' offense hasn't eclipsed 20 offensive points in 3 of their 4 games since.

His injury not just being a broken finger but puncturing the skin would ensure that Herbert wouldn't be able to line up much under center, as the speed of the ball being pushed into his hands would lead to excruciating pain.

This forces him to be under center more, which at times can hurt the run game, and also make pass plays a lot more predictable. Plenty of play action and run-pass options (RPOs) are run from under center as well, generally limiting the Bolts' offensive playbook.

Luckily, it seems like Herbert is a lot healthier now, as it's been a few weeks. The offense, however, doesn't look great, which leaves a lot of questions ahead of a big-time game against the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Is the correlation between the injury and the struggling Chargers' offense that strong, or there deeper rooted problems?

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