There are three teams in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC going into Week 18, a list that includes the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Broncos are currently sitting in the top seed, but the Patriots and Jags are right on their heels. New England shares the same record as the Broncos, while Jacksonville is just one game worse than both of those teams.
In order to have a shot at getting the No. 1 seed, the Patriots and Jaguars both need the Broncos to lose to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Unfortunately for New England and Jacksonville, that is now less likely to happen.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed the team would be sitting quarterback Justin Herbert for the regular-season finale against the Broncos, per ESPN's Kris Rhim. That means backup signal-caller Trey Lance will start.
"Jim Harbaugh said QB Justin Herbert won’t play Sunday against the Broncos," Rhim reported.
Harbaugh went on to add that Herbert might not be the only starter sitting. He said that the starters with "the most bruises" and who need "the most healing" will sit.
If you were wondering, yes, the Chargers, who have clinched a playoff berth already, do have something to play for in Week 18.
They cannot win the AFC West, but the Chargers do have a chance to move up to the No. 5 seed with a win and a Houston Texans loss, which would set up an ideal playoff matchup with either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens.
But that is clearly not enough for the Chargers to play Herbert, and it's understandable why.
Los Angeles' banged-up offensive line has been awful this year and that has led to Herbert taking plenty of punishment. It makes sense to avoid risking Herbert getting hurt in the final game of the season, even if it means a worse seed.
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