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Jim Harbaugh awarded a game ball to Los Angeles Chargers center Bradley Bozeman for an illegal — yet justified — late hit. Bozeman laid out New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd on Sunday after the defender put a dirty hit on his quarterback, Justin Herbert. 

It happened during the first half while Herbert was throwing a pass with Shepherd holding onto his leg. But even after Herbert released the ball, Shepard refused to release his leg. The defender continued to try and pull Herbert down, which could have easily led to an injury to the star quarterback.

That’s when Bozeman came in, and justice was served.

Bozeman and Shepherd were both flagged for unnecessary roughness, so the penalty didn’t cost the Chargers.

“It was probably one of the dirtier plays I’ve ever seen,” Bozeman said. “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.”

Los Angeles ultimately won the game, 26-8, to advance to 4-3 on the season.

Herbert later praised the O-lineman for being a good teammate.

“That’s the type of center you want on your team,” Herbert said. “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.”

After the game, Harbaugh announced game balls for just about everybody. Many players began to chant for Bozeman before Harbaugh finally yelled “BOZE!” and the locker room went wild. 

A veteran player out of Alabama, Bozeman signed a one-year deal with the Chargers this off-season. Clearly, he and the starting QB are already getting along splendidly.