Los Angeles Chargers center Bradley Bozeman got flagged for unnecessary roughness during Sunday’s 26-8 victory over the New Orleans Saints – and he’d do the same thing again if the situation arises.
“It was probably one of the dirtier plays I’ve ever seen,” Bozeman said in the locker room after the game about the incident, “especially with my own eyes. I think the ball’s gone two, three seconds, and he’s still gator-rolling. He’s on the ground; he’s still gator-rolling. You protect your quarterback. You protect your quarterback no matter what. I think any of our offensive linemen who were in that position would have done the exact, same thing. I had to get him off of him, and I did.”
With 7:22 left in the second quarter, Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert completed a pass to running back J.K. Dobbins for a 10-yard gain. But while watching the throw, Herbert was taken down by New Orleans defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd. Lying on the round at Herbert’s feet, Shepherd grabbed Herbert by the right leg and brought down the quarterback.
That’s when Bozeman dived in, and it took Herbert and an official to get the center off Shepherd.
The officials dispensed a pair of offsetting unnecessary-roughness penalties. Both Bozeman and Shepherd were allowed to continue to play, but the penalties wiped out the 10-yard gain. Herbert responded with a 15-yard completion for a first down during a 15-play, 90-yard touchdown drive.
In his seventh NFL season, Bozeman is in his first campaign with the Chargers. Entering Sunday’s game, he had made every offensive snap for Los Angeles in 2024.
A prep standout at Handley High School in Roanoke, Bozeman played on two CFP national-championship teams at Alabama before entering the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2018 draft.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
