Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said after watching the tape of the Week One win over the Chiefs that he couldn’t be prouder of quarterback Justin Herbert.
“Incredible game by Justin Herbert,” Harbaugh said. “Tremendous play by the quarterback.”
Harbaugh specifically singled out the toughness of Herbert in shaking off a brutal hit when he was sacked by Kansas City’s Drue Tranquill. Herbert got right back up and on the next play completed a third-and-long pass that let the Chargers convert a fourth down and keep their drive alive.
“That huge hit on Justin, the kind of hit that would have killed a lesser man. That’s how big that hit was. Let’s be honest about that,” Harbaugh said. “And then our guy, Justin Herbert, gets right back in the huddle and it’s third-and-14 and hits Quentin Johnston, which ended up being a half-yard short of the first down that allowed for that fourth down. I’ve been telling people Justin’s great, and again, Exhibit whatever it is now, just unbelievable, incredible, the kind of player he is. It’s especially hard, I think — most quarterbacks, most human beings, to take a big hit and then the next play stand in there, look down the barrel of the gun and hit another one. It’s pretty impressive.”
Harbaugh concluded by saying he’s thankful for Herbert with a nod to the fact that the Chargers-Chiefs game was played in Brazil.
“Obrigado, Justin Patrick Herbert,” Harbaugh said. “That means thank you in Portuguese.”
