{"id":87414,"date":"2025-12-09T08:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T08:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/87414\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T08:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T08:30:08","slug":"justin-herbert-and-chargers-show-grit-in-overtime-win-over-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/87414\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Herbert and Chargers show grit in overtime win over Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All that talk about the left hand of Justin Herbert<\/a>, and it\u2019s the right foot of Cameron Dicker<\/a> that made the difference.<\/p>\n

Dicker kicked five field goals Monday night to lift the Chargers to a 22-19 overtime victory<\/a> over the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild, turnover-filled game at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

On a night when the teams combined for eight turnovers \u2014 including a career-high four interceptions by Philadelphia\u2019s Jalen Hurts<\/a> \u2014 the game fittingly ended with an interception<\/a>. Tony Jefferson<\/a> latched onto a pass that was tipped by fellow Chargers defensive back Cam Hart<\/a>, snuffing out the Eagles\u2019 last chance.<\/p>\n

So Dicker\u2019s 54-yard field goal with 6:24 remaining in the extra period provided the margin of victory, just as it was Dicker who forced overtime with a 46-yarder in the waning moments of regulation.<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker (11) celebrates after making a 54-yard field goal in overtime against the Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a team we have,\u201d Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> said, practically shouting at the postgame podium. \u201cThat\u2019s my reaction \u2014 what a team we have. They refuse to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was practically do or die for a banged-up team that needed to win at least two of its final five games for a realistic chance at the playoffs. Now, the Chargers (9-4) need to win at least one of a brutal four-game stretch \u2014 at Kansas City and Dallas, at home against Houston, and a finale at AFC West-leading Denver, which has won 10 in a row.<\/p>\n

Opportunity awaits, but it\u2019s among the NFL\u2019s toughest stretch runs.<\/p>\n

That said, the Chargers are a tough team. They proved that throughout the near-constant reshuffling of their offensive line, the loss of their top two running backs \u2014 one of whom returned Monday night \u2014 and the injury to Herbert, who underwent surgery last Monday to repair a fracture in his non-throwing hand.<\/p>\n

Harbaugh deemed the performance, \u201cGreat with a capital G.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a week of outside speculation about his availability, Herbert conceded after Monday\u2019s game that he knew even before surgery that he wasn\u2019t going to miss a game. He played with a small cast on his left hand and was even using that bandaged appendage to stiff-arm defenders. He was his team\u2019s leading rusher with 10 carries for 66 yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like we were in a movie where the quarterback is doing these things and you get to the point where you go, \u2018OK, this is getting a little unrealistic,\u2019\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it felt like to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Herbert absorbed a beating. He was sacked a career-high seven times and hit 11 more, and didn\u2019t have a healthy left arm to break his fall, so more than once he was violently slammed to the turf.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely sets the standard,\u201d Chargers guard Mekhi Becton<\/a> said of the quarterback. \u201cFor him to get surgery a week ago and be back on the field today, it\u2019s contagious, for sure. It makes you want to go hard for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philadelphia was in prime position to forge another tie in overtime. The Eagles (8-5) answered Dicker\u2019s fifth field goal by driving to the Chargers\u2019 41, the outer edge of kicker Jake Elliott\u2019s range. They wanted to get a little closer, however, so the offense stayed on the field for a fourth and four.<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert tries to get rid of the ball while being sacked during the first half Monday.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Chargers defensive lineman Odafe Oweh<\/a> was flagged for a neutral-zone infraction, giving the visitors a first down. A couple of completed passes and the Eagles had a first down on the 17 \u2014 and that\u2019s when Hurts was intercepted for a fourth and final time.<\/p>\n

Hurts had just two interceptions in his first 12 games this season. At one point in the second quarter, he had both an interception and a fumble on the same play. His pass over the middle was picked off by Da\u2019Shawn Hand, who subsequently fumbled. Hurts got the ball back but he too fumbled, and the Chargers wound up with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a Super Bowl QB, so we have a lot of respect for what he\u2019s done,\u201d Jefferson said of Hurts, who was Most Valuable Player in the victory over Kansas City last February. \u201cBut we wanted to come out and showcase our brand of football.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the Chargers defenders were awarded a game ball, as was defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.<\/p>\n

Herbert got one as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think about the guys in that locker room,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do it for us. So many guys fight through things worse than what I\u2019m going through. It\u2019s the least I can do to show up and give my best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI draw a lot of inspiration from those guys, and hopefully I can have an impact on them too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quarterback showed his grit \u2014 decidedly not a left-handed compliment.<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert grimaces in pain after being tackled by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the second half Monday night.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All that talk about the left hand of Justin Herbert, and it\u2019s the right foot of Cameron Dicker…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48899,1536,1535,10444,30313,423,24710,19830,1544,48,52,51,47,50,49,48901,317,9018,427,315,48900],"class_list":["post-87414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ball-security","tag-cameron-dicker","tag-chargers","tag-eagles","tag-field-goal","tag-game","tag-hand","tag-interception","tag-justin-herbert","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-mere-week","tag-monday-night","tag-second","tag-team","tag-time","tag-tony-jefferson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}