Justin Herbert was already in plenty of pain coming into Sunday's game against the Jaguars. The Chargers quarterback suffered a rib injury in the team's Week 2 loss to the Chiefs, and was questionable to play in Week 3 up until game time.
That's why it was surprising that as the game was late, the Chargers were trailing big late in the fourth quarter, that Herbert remained on the field. He was out for the team's final drive of the game, when Los Angeles was down by 28 points with under two minutes to play. The Jaguars won the game 38-10.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley explained after the game it was Herbert's decision to remain in the contest late and said he was adamant about wanting to finish it out.
"There was just that point where he wanted to make sure that he finished with his teammates," Staley said.
It's hard to explain, but it was important for us to do it. And again, we're aligned the whole way and moving forward, we're gonna keep Justin at the front of all the decisions that we make.
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Herbert confirmed he wanted to stay in the game, explaining that he didn't want to leave the game even with the big deficit.
"It's what the team needs and sometimes, you have to put your own goals and everything behind the team, and I think that's what's most important," Herbert said.
I felt like I was safe out there and I didn't want to quit on my team.
Going into Sunday's game, it was a major uncertainty whether Herbert would play in the game at all. Staley had said previously that Herbert had a rib cartilage fracture, and that he would be day to day. The team was reportedly weighing the risk/reward of starting Herbert or resting him instead for backup Chase Daniel. Herbert explained he felt ready to play before kickoff.
Adding to the risk of keeping Herbert out there was that his protection had been diminished. Center Corey Linsley was ruled out before the game and left tackle Rashawn left the game during the third quarter.
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Staley said the No. 1 focus for the team is always the "big picture" and that the team wasn't just thinking about the Jacksonville game.
"We're thinking about our entire football team. We're thinking about the whole season," Staley said. "Trust me, in the fourth quarter, we were definitely talking through it."
Staley said the injury is one Herbert is likely to be feeling for some time, and that it is not likely to go away quickly. Staley said he is sure there will be a point where the coaching staff has to step in and tell Herbert not to keep fighting through the injury.
"Justin is going to be feeling like this when he's out there playing. This injury is going to be there for a while," Staley said. "It's not like it's going to feel better next week or the week after that. This thing is going to be present for a while. He felt good today. and w'ere going to continue to manage it the best we can."
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The Chargers return to action next Sunday against the Texans. If Herbert was good to play in a blowout loss a week removed from sustaining the injury, there's certainly no reason to expect he wouldn't play in the team's Week 4 clash.
