Justin Herbert is generally a stoic player , often letting his play do the talking for him as he attempts to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to the playoffs.
However, during the Chargers' 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, cameras spotted the 26-year-old forcefully slamming his helmet on the bench numerous time s. This is out of character from the star quarterback, as evidenced by the fact that reporters had to ask him about the moment after the game.
During his postgame press conference, Herbert gave reporters an insight into what was going through his head as he attempted to calm his emotions after a particularly tough game. "I wouldn't consider that a highlight," Herbert told reporters, which elicited some laughs.
"It's just the NFL. It's part of the game. Emotion." He also added that he did not recall what happened during the game that caused him to react as such, but he quickly attempted to sweep the moment under the rug as nothing more than a typical occurrence in the league.
Additionally, Herbert made it clear that the Chargers' struggles in the game after the first quarter were a result of Los Angeles not capitalizing on its opportunities against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. "I think it's just on us," Herbert continued.
"It's executing on third downs or fourth down if we're going for it. It's converting in the red zone and making sure we're pushing the ball. Limiting those penalties, like I talked about, and if you could put that together, that's the offense we want to play."
Although he was the recipient of a tough offensive outing, Herbert also made sure to give the Kansas City defense its flowers for executing a stifling game plan. "They're a really well-coached team," the quarterback admitted. "We got a lot of respect for them and they've got a lot of guys on that side of the ball that fly around.
"So it's on us to be able to handle their front seven, push the ball downfield and keep running the ball." That said, Herbert did what he could to try and power Los Angeles to a win, especially after a fast start to the game.
Herbert completed 16-of-27 pass attempts for 179 yards to go along with one touchdown. His Kansas City counterpart Mahomes had a similar game in terms of production, completing 19-of-29 pass attempts for 245 yards and one touchdown to go along with one interception.
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Mahomes also was at the center of a scary incident early in the game. After throwing a pick to Chargers safety Kristian Fulton, Mahomes attempted to make a play to stop Fulton from scoring .
As he attempted to tackle the safety, Mahomes somehow landed on star receiver Rashee Rice and his planted right leg. Soon after the play, Rice left the field on a cart, inconsolable as he headed into the locker room to determine how bad the injury was.
It was reported that Rice had suffered a torn ACL on the play, effectively ending his season. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that an MRI will be done to determine the severity of Rice's injury.
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