Saints HC: 'Nothing Malicious' About Nathan Shepherd Hit on Chargers' Justin Herbert

Following the New Orleans Saints' 26-8 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Saints' head coach Dennis Allen said Monday that defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd did not intentionally try to injure Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

"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, according to ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "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."

Herbert delivered a pass to Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins while still on his feet, but as he was taken to the ground, Shepherd, who was lying on the field, pulled him down by the ankle.

Chargers center Bradley Bozeman quickly shoved Shepherd off of Herbert, making it a point to protect his quarterback, who has been dealing with a lingering right ankle sprain since Week 2.

Following the play, both Shepherd and Bozeman received unnecessary roughness penalties.

"It was probably one of the dirtier plays I've ever seen," Bozeman said on Sunday, per Terrell. "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."

Following the dedication from his center, Herbert told reporters, "That's the type of center you want on your team," according to Terrell.

"He'll give everything for this team, and I appreciated what he did," Herbert continued, per Terrell. 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."

The Chargers and Saints will have to agree to disagree on the intentions behind Sunday's play.