Harbaugh said postgame that he barely had the words to describe what he saw Monday night.
But when it came to the Chargers franchise quarterback, Harbaugh couldn’t have said it any better.
“Justin Herbert, he’s a superhero. He’s a competitive maniac,” Harbaugh said. “He was even stiff-arming guys with a broken hand, and he had surgery a week ago.
“It felt like we were in a movie where the quarterback’s doing these things and you get to a point where you go, ‘Okay, this is getting a little unrealistic,’ you know? That’s what it felt like to me,” Harbaugh added. “He refuses to lose [and] he’s as tough as they get. He’s a superhero quarterback.”
Herbert, in case you forgot, suffered a broken bone in his hand in Week 13 against the Raiders but said that night he was hopeful he could play Monday.
He had surgery the following day and was limited all week in practice but admitted Monday night that the plan, as long as it was safe, was for him to start all along.
“Probably Sunday last week. I tried to be as upfront about it as possible,” Herbert said when asked when he knew he would play.
“They were really hopeful that it was a procedure that you were going to get done and be good to go by Monday,” Herbert added. “The first couple days were kind of tough figuring it out, getting the swelling down and being able to grip and do things like that. I thought the trainers and doctors all worked really well together.”
Herbert was under plenty of duress against the Eagles and it didn’t help that starting right tackle Trey Pipkins III left the game with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Herbert was pressured on 68.3 percent of his dropbacks, the sixth-highest percentage in a game over the last 10 seasons among quarterbacks with at least 20 dropbacks.
Herbert threw a touchdown pass and had 139 passing yards. He was also sacked a career-high seven times, threw an interception and lost a fumble.
Simply put, the Chargers don’t win without Herbert, who rushed for a team-high 66 yards, 13 of which came in overtime.
“Knowing a guy like Justin Herbert will go out there seven days after surgery and play,” Khalil Mack said. “It’s like, ‘Who else in the league is doing that?'”
Cam Hart added: “He’s a dog. A beast. The best I’ve ever seen. I have immense respect for Justin.”
And yes, there was Herbert in overtime trying to stiff arm an Eagles defenders with his broken left hand.
“I winced,” Harbaugh said.
Herbert said he appreciated the support from his teammates and reiterated he’d do anything possible to help the Bolts come away with a win.
“Just because I’m the quarterback I get the talk about that but those guys, they battle,” Herbert said. “Theres definitely guys in that locker room that are fighting through so many different injuries and things worse than what I’m going through.
“It’s the least that I can do to show up and give my best,” Herbert added.
