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Quarterback Justin Herbert had no interest in speaking to ESPN’s Laura Rutledge after his Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 22-19 in overtime, on Monday, December 8.
“Yeah, I’m trying to celebrate with my team,” Herbert, 27, told the Monday Night Football sideline reporter, who was attempting to chase him down on the field.
“No, I know, but can we just talk to you really fast?” replied Rutledge, 37.
When she finally corralled Herbert, the quarterback spoke fast and gave short answers, appearing distracted as Rutledge asked him questions.
Lead play-by-play man Joe Buck appeared to feel bad for Rutledge in the moment, saying, “Alright, now he can go celebrate with his teammates. Thank you, Laura. Good job.”
Rutledge addressed the incident via X on Tuesday, December 9, sharing a clip of the interview and writing “Rough day at the office. Let’s all have a good laugh and move on!”
Herbert took plenty of criticism for attempting to dodge the interview with Rutledge, which is one of his obligations under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
“Elite stuff from @LauraRutledge on chasing down Chargers QB Justin Herbert, who was as rude as I’ve ever seen a ‘winning’ quarterback for a postgame interview for the TV broadcast,” ESPN’s Ben Baby wrote via X. “Handled that like a pro.”
Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Phillips agreed, writing, “I generally like Justin Herbert, but he was a bit of a dick during that postgame interview. Dude, it’s your job to get interviewed after a win. And it’s the reporter’s job to flag you down and ask those questions. You know the drill.”
Justin Herbert is fresh off a stellar performance against Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 of the NFL season, and the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback has delivered one more blow to the star tight end. Herbert, 27, revealed his pick for who he believes will perform at the Super Bowl LX halftime show […]
Herbert, who has a reputation for trying to avoid the spotlight, had his defenders as well.
“Justin Herbert not wanting to do the interview postgame last night is a non story,” wrote WFAN’s Nick Kostos. “He did the interview, it was fine. Laura Rutledge handled it perfectly, as I said last night. But no need to slam Herbert. He did the interview. Nothing to see.”
While Herbert answered Rutledge’s questions, viewers at home may have been left wanting more. The Chargers star didn’t have his best game, but that was with good reason: Herbert is a week removed from surgery to fix a broken left hand.
His ability to play through the pain — and take seven sacks in the process — caused his coach, Jim Harbaugh, to call him a “superhero.”
“It felt like we were in a movie,” Harbaugh, 61, said, per ESPN. “It’s like you get to the point where you go, ‘OK, this is getting a little unrealistic.’”
The Chargers head coach added, “It’s inspiring. I wish I could just throw my body on the line. I wish I could take those hits for him.”
Herbert, for his part, downplayed his heroics with a group of reporters after leaving the field, despite saying he was playing through pain.
“There are so many guys in that locker room that are fighting through so many different injuries and things worse than what I’m going through,” he said. “So, it’s the least I can do to show up and give my best effort for them.”
The win puts the Chargers at 9-4 on the season and their playoff odds jumped from 61 percent to 76 percent with four games left to play, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
