Justin Herbert plays through pain to keep Chargers in game, earns praise from NFL world

Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert appeared to suffer a painful ribs injury in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.

Herbert took a shot from pass rusher Mike Danna and put the quarterback in a world of hurt. Clearly in some discomfort, Herbert took a playoff and then came back into the game. He was clearly hurting but managed to throw a 35-yard dot to DeAndre Carter to set up the team’s next score.

The young quarterback then found Joshua Palmer for the touchdown pass. The Chargers cut the deficit to three but couldn’t get the ball back on the onside kick.

Kansas City won the game 27-24.

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Amazon’s Charissa Thompson said after the game that Herbert was getting X-rays. Chargers coach Brandon Staley said they will learn more about the injury Friday, according to ESPN.

Herbert’s performance in the final 4 minutes of the game earned him the respect of the NFL world. He clearly played through pain and at one point couldn’t even attempt to run for a first down in fear of getting hit and exacerbating his injury.

He finished the game 33-for-48 with 334 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

The Chargers fell to 1-1 on the season. The Chiefs improved to 2-0 on the year.