Justin Herbert (understandably) wanted to be anywhere else but with an interviewer after his team’s big victory on “Monday Night Football.”
Herbert helped the Los Angeles Chargers to an exciting 22-19 overtime win over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles on Monday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The former Pro Bowl quarterback only completed 12/26 passes for 139 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception. But it was still a very gritty performance through a left hand fracture that Herbert had suffered the past week as the Chargers moved to 9-4 on the year.
Just after the final whistle, Herbert, who also rushed 10 times for 66 yards, was walking around on the field trying to find his teammates to celebrate. But Herbert was stopped by ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge for a live interview.
An awkward scene then ensued as a visibly annoyed Herbert kept on walking for a bit before telling Rutledge, “I’m trying to celebrate with my team.” Herbert then finally stopped and gave the interview to Rutledge, answering three questions for a total of about 45 seconds.
justin herbert did not want to do this interview lmfao pic.twitter.com/1uiB8E0RxG
— GC (@new_typ3) December 9, 2025
Monday’s game was an exciting seesaw battle with three different ties and one lead change in just the fourth quarter alone. Herbert then kicked off overtime by leading the Chargers on a 34-yard drive to set up a go-ahead field goal by Cameron Dicker before Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts responded by throwing a game-ending interception as part of a career-worst game.
On-field interviews with the star of the winning team are obviously a tradition, especially when it comes to one-game slates on national TV. But Herbert clearly didn’t want to be there in that moment, and it is hard to blame him.