Who needs antibiotics when you have a football field in Sin City?
Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley had flu symptoms ahead of the team’s Monday night matchup against the AFC West-rival Las Vegas Raiders, but it didn’t stop the third-year linebacker from shining. And his head coach made an analogy that shouldn’t be surprising to any football fan.
“Daiyan Henley, we elevated another linebacker because we just didn’t know. Had a fever, but once he started playing, the medicine was out there. It was out there on the field, and it was great to see him have the game that he had,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said about Henley after the win, according to NFL.com. “He’s a rising star, you know, superstar. Just happy for him. Played incredible, as did just about everybody on our defense.”
On the first play from scrimmage, Henley came up with a deflected pass from Raiders quarterback Geno Smith for an interception. He would go on to finish the night with one sack, two passes defended and 10 combined tackles in what was a 20-9 win for the Chargers. In all, the Chargers intercepted Smith, who finished with a 37.0 passer rating, three times and held the Raiders to just 68 rushing yards.
After the game, Henley posted a gif of himself to X, captioned: “Flu games are overrated 2-0.”
The week prior, Henley racked up one sack and eight combined tackles in the Chargers’ Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil. In 2024, Henley totaled a team-high 147 combined tackles, eight passes defended and one interception. Los Angeles selected Henley with the No. 85 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Washington State; he spent the first five seasons of his collegiate career at Nevada before transferring to Washington State.
Henley and the Chargers have a third consecutive divisional matchup to open the regular season, as they host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
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