“Just fell to my knees in Walmart” “This should be illegal”: NFL fans react to Justin Herbert update for Week 18 game vs. Broncos

Justin Herbert has been ruled out for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday. In his place, backup Trey Lance will get the start, with practice-squad DJ Uiagalelei elevated to serve as backup.

Herbert has been gutting it out with a fractured left hand since Week 13. The decision to leave him out of the Week 18 game is to ensure he’s well rested and healthy enough for the playoffs. Harbaugh also added that several other starters could also sit out Sunday’s finale.

"Winning and health, being healthy, those are our two objectives," Harbaugh said. "And guys that we think – the doctors, the trainers, myself, organization – that have the most bruises and need that time the most, we've decided that's the direction we're going."

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Last week’s loss to the Houston Texans officially eliminated the Chargers from AFC West contention, leaving Sunday’s finale with implications only for playoff seeding. Harbaugh, however, insisted that sitting Herbert has nothing to do with trying to maneuver into a preferred wild-card matchup.

"Health and winning. That's it," Harbaugh said. "There's no way to predict. We're going on the road, first round. All potential teams would be good, and we'll get ourselves ready for that."

There's been a lot of reaction to Justin Herbert's expected absence from the Week 18 game among NFL fans. Quite a lot of fans, who are waiting to see the quarterback in action or have him on their fantasy team, are triggered by the decision. Here's a look at some of the reactions online:

Analyst commend the decision to sit out Justin Herbert

While many fans have been critical of the decision to sit Justin Herbert out of the Broncos game, Ryan Clark believes it's a good decision. Speaking on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown,” the analyst noted that it would be a bad idea to play for the Chargers to play the quarterback.

“The thing is, you can't watch Justin Herbert play against the Houston Texans and think to yourself, it's safe to make him go out this week again,” Clark said. “With that level of attrition that they've suffered on the offensive side of the football and knowing what this young man has done to put you in this position, you can't risk it.”

Justin Herbert has been largely influential for the Chargers this season, throwing for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns. He's also rushed for 498 yards and two touchdowns on 83 carries. With his level of play, Ryan Clark noted the Chargers can't win without him.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf