MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — In the retelling days, weeks, months or even years from now, almost everyone in the known football universe will remember the way quarterback Justin Herbert avoided a sack, delivered a pass to wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a big gain that set up the game-winning field goal.
Coach Jim Harbaugh won’t be one of those people who only remembers the magic Herbert and McConkey created together on a 2nd-and-10 play from their own 40-yard line with less than a minute to play in what would become a 29-27 victory Sunday over the Miami Dolphins.
What else caught the attention of Harbaugh as he stood on the Chargers’ sideline at Hard Rock Stadium was the sight of left guard Zion Johnson sprinting downfield at top speed in an attempt to block for McConkey, a much smaller, faster and agile man in the open field.
Or any field, to think of it.
Eventually, McConkey stepped out of bounds at the Dolphins’ 17-yard line.
Johnson was only steps behind him.
“That play he made at the end of the game on Ladd’s run was incredible,” Harbaugh said while in the midst of a postgame rundown of the many Chargers’ standouts in a game they seemed destined to lose after giving up a 26-13 lead they had built early in the fourth quarter.
“Justin (went) back to throw, defender wrapped around him and was able to Mighty Man it and shake it off and hit Ladd McConkey,” Harbaugh continued. “(McConkey) does his stunt. Fly-by (by the Dolphins’ Dante Trader Jr.). He gets that necessary yardage, and here comes Zion Johnson flying ahead of Ladd.”
Well, close but not quite.
Johnson saw it differently, of course.
“Just run like hell,” he said. “I’m just trying to push, trying to get down there, trying to help in any way I can. We always preach, you know, to be around the ball. The ball could end up on the ground. He could try to make a cut and you could be in a position to make a block or something.
“So, I was thinking, like, try to get down there for whatever happens.”
Johnson then smiled broadly at the next question.
What’s your best time in the 40-yard dash?
“I think I ran 5.5 (seconds) or something like that,” he recalled.
For the record, Johnson actually ran 5.18 seconds for the 40-yard dash at the NFL draft combine in 2022 in Indianapolis, according to data compiled by the league and available on its website. McConkey’s 40-yard time at the combine was slightly faster, a sizzling 4.39 seconds.
ROSTER MOVES
The Chargers placed defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand on injured reserve because of a groin injury. They also signed right tackle Bobby Hart to the active roster from the practice squad, elevated running back Nyheim Hines and offensive tackle David Sharpe from the practice squad. In addition, they downgraded fullback/defensive lineman Scott Matlock to out for personal reasons.
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