Omarion Hampton Returns in Time for Final Playoff Push
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The long, strange ride that is the NFL season took many more twists on Sunday. For the Los Angeles Chargers, the offense gets a solid piece back on Monday night. Omarion Hampton returns after missing two months due to an ankle injury. Whather it was fractured or not does not matter now. What matters is that Hampton is at least back.
Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about the Chargers! #BoltUp
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) December 7, 2025
- Latest on Justin Herbert (hand injury)
- Doctor report with @GameInjuryDoc
- Omarion Hampton (ankle) returns! pic.twitter.com/Tberr2yGBy
There are going to be plenty of questions. One of the tongue-in-cheek statements made over the weekend was can Justin Herbert hand off the ball? This is because of what Chicago did to the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday. Now, the Bears controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes and piled up almost 300 yards on the ground.
Let us dig into why that may not quite be the case.
Omarion Hampton Potential Impacts
This truly is all potential here because no one knows what to expect out of Hampton. The running back is just returning from missing two months due to a persistent ankle injury. Will he be eased into the lineup? Does he get his normal 13 carries a game or so? For one, the Eagles are not the Las Vegas Raiders. Second, Vidal has been so inconsistent from week to week.
Part of the inconsistency is the youth. Hampton had a bit of the same problem before his injury way back in Week 5. The Chargers have also dealt with injuries to their offensive line (most notably Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater). Hampton broke out against the Giants in Week 4 only to succumb to injury the following week against Washington.
Jim Harbaugh has said he would ease Hampton into the lineup. Again, the Chargers are dealing with a myriad of injuries. Even Justin Herbert has a stubborn hand injury which has hampered him in several ways. It is impressive that the Chargers are 8-4 and in a position to make the playoffs.
Expect Hampton to still get around 10-15 touches on Monday night. Los Angeles wants to run the ball 30+ times ideally if the score dictates. The running back also had caught 17 passes out of the backfield in the three previous contests before the ankle injury. It could be a solid option for those trying to pick up cheap PPR points.
Going A Little Forward
The Chargers' fantasy football playoff schedule is far from easy. Los Angeles plays on the road against Kansas City (who wants to play spoiler), then in Dallas, and a home game versus Houston (in the playoff hunt). Again, with Herbert not 100%, it is all hands on deck for the Chargers. Having as many healthy players as possible is paramount here.
Kansas City has one of better run defenses in the league ranking seventh in yards allowed. Dallas can be a defensive sieve. That may be the oasis as Houston is fifth in rushing yards yielded and has looked great on defense since their early bye week.
Expect the Chargers to be more run-centric until Herbert gets as close to 100% as possible.
