New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said on Monday that he does not agree with the accusation defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd intentionally tried to injury quarterback Justin Herbert on Sunday.
Shepherd and Los Angeles Chargers center Bradley Bozeman were both flagged for unnecessary roughness after Shepherd appeared to twist Herbert’s right ankle after he had already taken Herbert to the ground. Herbert threw a pass to Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins and was still standing up when Shepherd, who was on the ground, pulled him down by his ankle.
Herbert’s ankle twisted awkwardly in Shepherd’s grip and he fell backward to the ground. Bozeman jumped on top of Shepherd and shoved him off Hebert and pinned him to the ground before an official came over to break things up. The two were given offsetting penalties.
“I think it’s not accurate. Here’s a guy that’s trying to wrap the quarterback up. He’s on the ground, he has no idea whether the quarterback has the ball or not. He’s just trying to bring the quarterback down to the ground,” Allen said. “There was nothing malicious about that play. It’s a guy that’s trying to make the play. I went back and looked at that play again after seeing the comments and I don’t agree with that.”
Bozeman told reporters on Sunday that he was trying to protect Herbert, who has been playing through a right ankle sprain since Week 2.
“It was probably one of the dirtier plays I’ve ever seen,” Bozeman said on Sunday.
“You protect your quarterback no matter what. And I think any of our offensive linemen that was in my position would’ve done the same thing.”
Shepherd’s teammate Khalen Saunders responded to criticism from Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL analyst and current FOX analyst on “X” on Sunday. Saunders disagreed with Acho’s comment that Shepherd intentially tried to injure Herbert.
“If you actually watched the play you’d see that he hit him right before Justin underhand flipped the ball to the RB to avoid the sack,” Saunders wrote. “He thinking Herbert still has the ball.”
Bozeman was given a game ball after the game by Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh.
“That’s the type of center you want on your team,” Herbert said on Sunday. “He’ll give everything for this team, and I appreciated what he did. I tried to pull him off so he didn’t get any penalties called, but to have a guy like that defending you, there’s no better feeling.”
This is the second time this season that a Saints defensive lineman has been accused of dirty play. Rookie defensive lineman Khristian Boyd was accused of intentionally trying to injure Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith after Boyd hit him in the helmet area as two teammates were trying to make the tackle. Smith was placed into concussion protocol after the hit, which later resulted in a $4,600 fine for Boyd.
The Saints are currently on a six-game losing streak and have played the last three games without starting quarterback Derek Carr.
“I would expect him to be back out at practice on Wednesday and then we’ll go from there and see what his availability is for this week but I’m optimistic about it,” Allen said.
Allen said that wide receiver Bub Means has a high ankle sprain and will miss time. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore and running back Kendre Miller have hamstring injuries.
