Saints' Nathan Shepherd Fined for Twisting Justin Herbert's Leg in Loss vs. Chargers

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd was fined $11,817 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness during a 26-8 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

In the second quarter of the game, Shepherd wrapped up the right leg of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and twisted it around after he had already completed a pass.

Bradley Bozeman, Los Angeles' center, responded by shoving Shepherd into the ground. Both players were penalized for unnecessary roughness at the time.

Bozeman did not receive a fine, per Pelissero.

Saints head coach Dennis Allen told reporters on Monday that he didn't agree with accusations that Shepherd was intentionally attempting to injure Herbert.

"I think it's not accurate," Allen said, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "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. There was nothing malicious about that play."

"I went back and looked at that play again after seeing the comments and I don't agree with that," he added.

Bozeman didn't agree.

"It was probably one of the dirtier plays I've ever seen," Bozeman said after the game, via 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."

Shepherd finished with one tackle against the Chargers. In eight appearances this season, he's recorded 19 tackles and two tackles for loss.

As for Herbert, he finished 20-of-32 for 279 yards and two touchdowns without an interception during the victory over New Orleans. Even though he's averaging a career-low 206.1 passing yards per game this season, he's also completed 64.8 percent of his throws and recorded eight touchdowns while getting picked off once.

Shepherd was able to avoid a suspension, but he still incurred a fine for his actions in Week 8.