Justin Herbert put up a valiant effort for the Los Angeles Chargers as he played through a rib cartilage injury, but took brutal punishment from the Jacksonville Jaguars in a blowout loss at home. Herbert finished 25 of 45 for 297 yards with a touchdown and an interception -- and for the most part was protected in the pocket, as he was hit six times and sacked once.
Herbert didn't look his typical self Sunday, playing through pain with a rib cartilage fracture that could take weeks to heal. He took a tough hit from Dawuane Smoot and was grimacing in pain afterwards, setting the stage for a Jaguars blowout. Late in L.A.'s 38-10 loss, Herbert was still out throwing passes with the game already decided.
Why did the Chargers have Herbert out there late in the fourth quarter? L.A. head coach Brandon Staley said that was Herbert's call.
"He wanted to be out there with his teammates," Staley said. "He felt good and he wanted to finish the game. He wanted to give our group some energy. We were going to protect him there at the end with really sound protection as best we could, but it was more about him wanting to finish with his guys."
Give Herbert credit for standing tall with his teammates, but the Chargers had to consider the long-term view with their franchise quarterback. Herbert is the key to the Chargers reaching the playoffs and the one player the offense can't afford to lose, especially since the AFC West appears open with three of the four teams losing Sunday.
Even if the Chargers have lost two straight, they are still just one game behind the Chiefs and Broncos for the division lead with 14 games left to play. Risking injury to Herbert in a blowout loss isn't worth it.
"That's the first thought throughout the game and at the end of the game," Staley said. 'Trust me, there's no one that is thinking about it for than I am."
So why risk Herbert in the first place?
"That was the decision that we made," Staley said. "It was about us finishing the game as a team. It was important to us that we did it.
"This injury is going to be there for awhile. If you guys know the injury, it's not like it's going to feel better the next week or the week after that. This thing is going to be present for a while. He felt good today. We're going to manage it as best we can."
