Just eight days after undergoing surgery on his broken left hand, Justin Herbert suited up, took the field, and led the Chargers to a gritty 19-16 overtime win over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles on Monday Night Football. It wasn’t a clinic in offensive execution, but it was a gutsy performance that spoke volumes about Herbert’s toughness-and maybe just how much this team still believes it has something to play for in the final stretch of the season.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t an easy night for Herbert. The Eagles' front seven came after him with relentless pressure, sacking him a career-high seven times and racking up 33 yards in losses.
That’s not exactly the kind of stat line you want to see for a quarterback less than two weeks removed from hand surgery. But Herbert didn’t flinch.
He stood in the pocket, took the hits, and kept the offense moving just enough to grind out the win.
The Chargers didn’t light up the scoreboard, but they did enough to hang around and force overtime. And once there, Herbert made the plays that mattered. That’s been a recurring theme throughout his career-when the game is on the line, he finds a way to deliver, even if it’s not always pretty.
After the game, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge asked the obvious question: how’s the hand holding up? Herbert’s answer was as brief as it was reassuring: “Pretty good.”
That’s about as much as you’re going to get from a quarterback who prefers to let his play do the talking. And on Monday night, his play said plenty.
This all comes just a week after Herbert fractured his left (non-throwing) hand against the Raiders in Week 13. He left that game temporarily, returned with the hand heavily taped, and finished it out. Then, after undergoing surgery, he returned to face one of the NFL’s most aggressive pass rushes-and won.
There’s still a long road ahead for the Chargers if they want to make a serious playoff push, but this win-on the road, in prime time, against the reigning champs-could be a turning point. Herbert’s toughness was on full display, and while the offensive line has some serious issues to clean up, the quarterback’s resilience gives this team a fighting chance.
No style points were awarded Monday night, but the Chargers don’t care. They walked away with a win, their quarterback walked away upright, and for now, that’s more than enough.