National Football League

Justin Herbert's gutsy effort not enough to lead Chargers past Chiefs

Updated Sep. 17, 2022 6:35 p.m. ET

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFC West Writer

In a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs' defense took over.

The Chiefs held Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers to 401 total yards and grabbed the winning score on a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by rookie defensive back Jaylen Watson.

Kansas City held off a late rally to defeat the Chargers 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium.

But the story here was a fourth-quarter injury to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

With a little over five minutes remaining in the game, the University of Oregon product suffered what appeared to be a rib injury after converting a third down to tight end Gerald Everett.

Herbert was driven to the turf by Kansas City defensive end Michael Danna. He grimaced in pain after the play but left the field on his own.

Justin Herbert finished the game for the Chargers despite being in obvious pain down the stretch. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Chase Daniel replaced Herbert for a play, handing off to Sony Michel. Herbert came back into the game and led the Chargers to a touchdown, a 7-yard throw to Josh Palmer for the final score of the game.

According to reports, Herbert received an X-ray after the game. Herbert finished 33-of-48 for 334 passing yards, with three touchdowns and that enormous interception. Herbert's counterpart Patrick Mahomes was 24-of-35 for 235 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"We just hung around, I think that's the biggest thing," Mahomes said. "The defense kept us in the game. On offense, we didn't play our best football. But that was huge, for the defense to keep us in that game, makes some plays to get points on the board and just give us a chance.

"For a young defense to play like that this early in the season, I think that's going to carry us the rest of the way."

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley said during his post-game news conference that his quarterback took some big hits and appeared to suffer a rib injury. Staley said he'll know more about the extent of Herbert's issue on Friday.

Herbert did not talk to reporters after the game.

"You're not going to see a quarterback in any level of football play tougher, more for their team and will their team to give them a chance than him," Staley said after the game. "There's nobody that can do what he can do. Nobody. He showed a lot of guts. He showed us what he shows us every day, that we're never out of the fight. And he brought us back and gave us a chance."

Coincidentally, Herbert got his first NFL start two years ago in a Week 2 game against the Chiefs because quarterback Tyrod Taylor suffered a punctured lung when a team doctor attempted to administer a pain-killing injection for rib discomfort.

Taylor had to be taken to a hospital during the game. Herbert came in and never looked back.

Herbert does benefit from the fact that the Chargers have 10 days until their next game, a home contest in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Along with the Herbert injury, the Chargers left a handful of plays on the field that could have changed the game, including two dropped interceptions and two others negated by penalties.

"When you get chances against that team, you've got to make sure you capitalize," Staley said. "We had some opportunities tonight and we didn't finish them."

With Keenan Allen out due to a hamstring injury, Herbert's No. 1 target was Mike Williams, who finished with eight catches for 113 yards on 10 targets. Williams has scored seven touchdowns at Arrowhead since 2018.

The Chargers led the NFL with a 64.7% conversion percentage on fourth down last season. But on Thursday against the Chiefs, Brandon Staley, usually aggressive on fourth down, was much more conservative. He twice punted on fourth down and two near midfield and kicked a 31-yard field goal rather than go for it on fourth-and-two from Kansas City's 13-yard line.

However, the Chargers did go for it four times on fourth down, converting on each opportunity.

"I just wanted to give our defense a chance to compete," Staley said. "I really loved the way that we were playing. I felt like that was the formula to flip the field there. I felt like we were aggressive when we needed to be tonight."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.