Justin Herbert expects to play with broken hand but Chargers and Eagles plan for contingencies

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers had to adjust on the fly after Justin Herbert broke a bone in his non-throwing hand last Sunday.

As optimistic as they are that Herbert will be ready to start against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, the Chargers (8-4) have spent this week accounting for every possible contingency.

“I think you got to try to look at it from all the different angles, you know, as you prepare,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “What if this happens? What if that happens?”

Planning went into practice during a 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, when Herbert had to play the final three quarters with his left hand in a hard cast and protective glove. The injury prevented Herbert from taking snaps under center, with the Chargers using shotgun and pistol formations the rest of the way.

“It’s just a good reminder you really need to work through these contingencies in your mind,” Roman said. “A lot of what we practiced that week went out the window. So, really, hats off to Justin and really everybody.”

Herbert had surgery on Monday and was back at practice Thursday, leaving an organization that typically treats such matters as state secrets expressing an unusually public degree of belief he will be ready to go against the NFC East-leading Eagles (8-4).

“That's the plan, is to prepare as if I'm going to play,” Herbert said Wednesday. “See how the next couple days goes, and do everything I can to be out there for the team and for the guys.”

However, that does not necessarily mean Herbert will be able to run the full offense. Backup Trey Lance worked with the first unit on Wednesday, and coach Jim Harbaugh has said the third overall pick in the 2021 draft would be prepared for situations where the Chargers might need to be under center, such as in short yardage or at the goal line.

Roman has used quarterback platoons at times, but never because of an injury like Herbert's.

“It was because of, you know, trying to throw some trickeration at people,” Roman said. “But, no, I mean, we’ll do whatever it takes.”

The uncertainty carries over to the Eagles, where defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has also been devising plans for Herbert and Lance, who has not thrown a touchdown pass in the NFL since Jan. 2, 2022, the last game of his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers.

“We’ll have to prepare for both quarterbacks,” Fangio said. “Probably knowing that if Herbert plays, he’ll be in the pistol a lot and in the gun. Yeah, we’ll have to be ready for both.”

Philadelphia’s offense has absorbed the bulk of the blame for the team's struggles of late. Yet, it was the defense — especially the line — that got whipped against the Bears, when the unit allowed 281 yards. Chicago had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since its dominant Super Bowl-winning 1985 season.

“I didn’t do a good enough job of preparing our squad for the quality and the diversity of their run game,” Fangio said. “We didn’t play the run and the blocks the way we had been playing.”

Herbert has experience going against Fangio’s schemes, having faced him four times from 2020-21 when Fangio was head coach of the Denver Broncos. Herbert went 2-2, throwing for 1,071 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. Both wins were at home, and he did not throw a pick in those games.

Although the Eagles have allowed over 400 yards of offense in consecutive games for the first time under Fangio, Herbert expects a big response this week.

“We know how good their defense is, and we watch the film, and it doesn’t take long to turn it on and see the plays they make,” Herbert said. “They have guys on that side of the ball that are game-wreckers. And at the same time, they’re really well-coached, and it makes for a dangerous combination.”

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has stood behind offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, both professionally amid the offense's struggles and personally, after Patullo’s New Jersey home was vandalized with eggs over the weekend.

Sirianni said he’s leaned on advice he was given early in his coaching career: “Give strength to the people that need it.”

“I always thought that was really good,” Sirianni said. “Pick up people that need it, and that’s your job as a leader to do that. That’s why the relationship portion of it is so important because there are ups and there are downs in relationships.”

Patullo appreciated Sirianni’s trust in him to turn around a unit that is running out of time to perform like one that's capable of winning another Super Bowl. Saquon Barkley and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts have seen their production dip, while former 1,000-yard receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are behind the pace of their career averages. The Eagles are averaging 62.4 fewer yards per game and 4.7 fewer points than last season.

Coming off their bye week, the Chargers turned in arguably their best offensive performance since tackle Joe Alt was lost for the season on Nov. 2 in the win over the Raiders. To Harbaugh, it was clear the time off benefited the offensive line, with multiple players getting healthy and Jamaree Salyer having the chance to work exclusively at left tackle after previously splitting time at right guard. That switch will be permanent for the remainder of the season, Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh was especially pleased with the run blocking, which set the stage for 192 yards and two scores on the ground, and believes the front five has found some consistency without Alt.

“These are high (level), elite football players that have gotten their opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “Their playing is healthy and together and good. ... That bodes well for us down the stretch.”

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks after his team's loss to the Chicago Bears in an NFL football game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11), right, celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says some proposals in a U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin, indicating in comments published Thursday that any deal is still some ways off.

U.S. President Donald Trump has set in motion the most intense diplomatic push to stop the fighting since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. But the effort has once again run into demands that are hard to reconcile, especially over whether Ukraine must give up land to Russia and how it can be kept safe from any future aggression by Moscow.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner planned to meet later Thursday with the Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov following the Americans' discussions with Putin at the Kremlin, but there was no immediate confirmation whether that meeting took place.

The meeting at the Shell Bay Club, a golf property developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach, was tentatively set to begin at 5 p.m. EST, according to an official familiar with the logistics. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly because the meeting has not yet been formally announced and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Putin said his five-hour talks Tuesday with Witkoff and Kushner were “necessary” and “useful,” but also “difficult work,” and some proposals were unacceptable.

Speaking to the India Today television channel before he landed Thursday in New Delhi for a state visit, Putin said the American proposals discussed at the Kremlin meeting were based on earlier discussions between Russia and the U.S., including his meeting with Trump in Alaska in August, but also included new elements.

“We had to go through practically every point, which is why it took so much time,” he said. “It was a meaningful, highly specific and substantive conversation. Sometimes we said, ‘Yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree.’"

Trump said Wednesday that Witkoff and Kushner came away from the marathon session confident that Putin wants to find an end to the war. “Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” he added.

Putin said the initial U.S. 28-point peace proposal was trimmed to 27 points and split into four packages. He refused to elaborate on what Russia could accept or reject, and none of the other officials involved offered details of the talks.

The Russian leader praised Trump’s peace efforts, noting that “achieving consensus among conflicting parties is no easy task.”

“To say now what exactly doesn’t suit us or where we could possibly agree seems premature, since it might disrupt the very mode of operation that President Trump is trying to establish,” Putin said.

He emphasized that Russia will fulfill the goals it set and take all of the eastern Donetsk region. “All this boils down to one thing: Either we take back these territories by force, or eventually Ukrainian troops withdraw,” he said.

European leaders, left on the sidelines by Washington as U.S. officials engage directly with Moscow and Kyiv, have accused Putin of feigning interest in Trump's peace drive.

French President Emmanuel Macron met in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, seeking to involve him in pressuring Russia toward a ceasefire. Xi, whose country has provided strong diplomatic support for Putin, did not say respond to France’s call, but said that “China supports all efforts that work towards peace.”

Russian barrages of civilian areas of Ukraine continued overnight into Thursday. A missile struck Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday night, wounding six people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul.

The attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown damaged more than 40 residential buildings, a school and domestic gas pipes, Vilkul said.

A 6-year-old girl died in the southern city of Kherson after Russian artillery shelling wounded her the previous day, regional military administration chief Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.

The Kherson Thermal Power Plant, which provides heat for over 40,000 residents, shut down Thursday after Russia pounded it with drones and artillery for several days, he said.

Authorities planned emergency meetings to find alternate sources of heating, he said. Until then, tents were erected across the city where residents could warm up and charge electronic devices.

Russia also struck Odesa with drones, wounding six people, while civilian and energy infrastructure was damaged, said Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.

Overall, Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 138 drones at Ukraine overnight, officials said.

Meanwhile, in the Russia-occupied part of the Kherson region, two men were killed by a Ukrainian drone strike on their vehicle Thursday, Moscow-installed regional leader Vladimir Saldo said. A 68-year-old woman was also wounded in the attack, he said.

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace each other at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint news conference with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet each other at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sit inside a limousine after arriving at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Men walk past a billboard with portraits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours before the scheduled arrival of the latter in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

This image made from a December 2025 video provided by the Ukrainian Defense Forces shows the heavily-bombed city of Myrnohrad in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. (Ukrainian Defense Forces via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an international forum of civil participation "We Are Together" in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Alexander Shcherbak, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, third right, Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, fourth right, and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, right, attend talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, third, at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)