The Chargers were prepared for their week 14 showdown against the Chiefs at the Arrowhead. But alas, it didn’t go their way. Matthew Wright‘s field goal in the last second was unbelievable. It hit the left upright and went in. That’s it. The final scores read 19-17. And Justin Herbert was disappointed.

During the post-game conference, he looked frustrated with the loss. Anyone would be if they lost in the final second. When asked if losing their 7th straight game to the Chiefs had a mental toll on them, he replied, “It’s the name of the game and we have to do everything we can, it’s always about the next one.” That’s a great message to Jim Harbaugh and the locker room. And that’s the right way. Nothing can be changed in the past, only lessons learned.

Justin Herbert did everything he could to avert the loss. With 21 of 30 passes (70% completion rate) in 213 yards and 1 touchdown, he even outperformed Patrick Mahomes, who only had 24 of 37 passes (64.8% completing rate) in 210 yards and 1 touchdown. However, there was a fundamental difference in their approaches.

While the Chargers relied more on scoring touchdowns to get points, the Chiefs made more determined drives to get in the field goal range. In fact, both teams had a 100% conversion in field goal attempts. But the visiting team had only one FG while the Chiefs made 4.

All said and done, the fans weren’t disappointed with the performance they put up against the mighty Chiefs. Most of them were concerned about QB’s injury.

Justin Herbert downplays his injury and gets ready for the next game

With 4:45 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter, at 3rd & 10, the QB injured his knee during a tackle by the Chiefs LB Nick Bolton. However, he returned with 21 seconds left for halftime to start their 1st & 10 drive. This raised some valid questions. Is he fit for the next games?

Justin Herbert put an end to all those rumors and mentioned, “I just took a shot to the knee, but I should be okay. Just took a shot there and um was in some pain, so it came off felt good to go.” That’s good news for them. Now they can prepare their strategies for the campaign, keeping him at the center.

Sitting in the 2nd position in the AFC West division and 6th in their conference, they need to win the remaining games to stay there. Two of those four teams, the Patriots (week 17) and the Raiders (week 18) are out of the race for the playoffs. It wouldn’t be too tough. Jim Harbaugh would now be thinking about the next matchup against the Buccaneers on December 16.