5 Takeaways: How Najee Harris' Season-Ending Achilles Injury Impacts Chargers Offense

Sep 22, 2025 at 04:00 PM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

The Chargers are 3-0 after Sunday's 23-20 wild win over the Broncos.

The Bolts will now turn their attention to the Giants as they head to the East Coast for a Week 4 road game.

Here are five takeaways from Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh's Monday press conference.

1. Najee Harris out for the season

The Chargers received some tough injury news after Sunday's game.

Running back Najee Harris will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles.

"Imaging confirmed that," Harbaugh said. "He'll have to miss the season."

He later added: "It's unfortunate that that occurred."

Harris was injured with roughly five minutes left in the second quarter when he went to the ground after coming out of his stance. He immediately grabbed at his leg, was helped to the sideline and was eventually carted to the locker room.

It's a tough blow for Harris, who had been among the league's most dependable players since being drafted in 2021.

Harris started in all 71 regular-season and playoff games during his four-year career in Pittsburgh before playing in all three Chargers game so far this season.

"He was really playing well. Playing great, especially on the gap scheme, he was hitting on the short-yardage plays," Harbaugh said. "Phenomenal pickups by him, second effort all the way."

Omarion Hampton said postgame that he was sending good vibes to his teammate.

"I'm not sure what happened but definitely praying for him. I already texted him, checked up on him, wishing him a speedy recovery," Hampton said.

He later added: "It definitely hurts."

The bulk of the run game is now expected to fall on Hampton, a 2025 first-round pick who has 42 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown in three games.

Hampton had his best game as a pro on Sunday, tallying 25 total touches for 129 total yards while scoring his first NFL touchdown on a 3-yard run in the second quarter.

Harbaugh said Monday that Hampton had "a game ball-worthy performance" against the Broncos.

"I think he's in great place to climb from and I trust he'll continue to be a great player," Harbaugh said of Hampton. "I really think that. Around him every day and just how much it means to him and how important it is for him, good place to climb from."

Harbaugh also noted Monday that he's not worried about putting too much on Hampton's plate since he's gotten to know the 22-year-old's personality in recent months.

"What somebody does speaks so loudly that you don't have to hear what they say," Harbaugh said of Hampton's quiet demeanor. "That's the case with him, the way he trains, the way he practices.

"What you saw in that game [Sunday] ... the competitive fire, the fierceness, the acceleration through the holes," Harbaugh added. "There's no fear. He's a real football player."

With Harris out for the season, Harbaugh also expects others in the locker room such as Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal to help out, too. Haskins is currently on the active roster while Vidal, a 2024 sixth-round pick, is on the practice squad.

"We've got good football players and we believe they're on our roster because they're really good," Harbaugh said. "We understand that guys will step into roles and be at their best when their best is needed most."

Harbaugh also added that Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz and his staff could look to add depth at that position.

2. Harbaugh urges Herbert MVP talk

Harbaugh has created a new superlative for a player's in-game performance.

Typically, the Chargers Head Coach had used six categories coming off a game to evaluate how a player did.

If the team won, a player could either be the reason they won, have just an OK game or have a poor performance.

And if it was a loss, a player could have a great game, have a mediocre game or be a reason the game was lost.

Now, however, there's a seventh category.

"We won and Justin Herbert was the reason we won," Harbaugh said with a smile on Monday.

Harbaugh then explained his reasoning in detail.

"I never really categorized it that way because football is such a team sport," Harbaugh said. "That would rarely happen, but it was the case in this game. It'd be like basketball ... somebody willed the team to win and took the team on their back.

"Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant ... that happens more often than in football. I've now seen it happen in football. That was the case," Harbaugh added. "Justin Herbert ... that's why we won."

And while Herbert is getting some early NFL MVP buzz, Harbaugh said that praise is more than justified.

"If they're ever talking about MVP consideration — Justin Herbert," he said.

Herbert threw for 300 yards with a touchdown and an interception Sunday, but saved his best for last against the Broncos.

With the Chargers trailing in the fourth quarter, Herbert completed 12 of 15 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in the final frame.

The quarterback posted a 90.2 Pro Football Focus grade in the fourth quarter alone and led the Bolts to nine first downs, the same number that Denver's offense had in the entire game.

All of this against a scary Broncos defense that sacked him five times and hit him 14 times in all while pressuring him on 54.7 percent of his dropbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the highest pressure rate he's faced in any game of his career.

It led to Herbert's 13th career fourth-quarter comeback and 17th career game-winning drive.

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3. Digging deep for the win

While Harbaugh had plenty of praise for Herbert on Monday afternoon, he also credited the entire locker room for the comeback win.

"It took everybody," Harbaugh said.

The Chargers only had a 10.8-percent win probability late in the fourth quarter before the offense scored the game-tying touchdown and the defense forced a three-and-out.

That set the stage for Herbert and the offense to get into field goal range before Cameron Dicker closed the door with a 43-yard, walk-off kick.

"They had a never-give-in, never-give-up personality. That's the kind of heart that champions are built," Harbaugh said.

It added up to a third straight win to open the season, all of which have come against AFC West foes.

The next challenge? A long road trip to play the New York Giants.

"It's a great place to climb when you win a game and know there are things to improve," Harbaugh said. "We'll attack it and get ready for the Giants. That's going to be a tough task.

"Onward," Harbaugh added.