NFL

Staley hails Herbert after game-winning final-minute drive

By Sports Desk December 19, 2022

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley led the praise for quarterback Justin Herbert after he produced a late game-winning drive, culminating in Cameron Dicker's game-winning field goal in their 17-14 triumph over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Ryan Tannehill had tied the game with a one-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds left before Herbert took control, driving the Chargers forward for 52 yards in six plays, with Dicker nailing the 43-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left.

Herbert completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with 4,000 pass yards in each of his first three seasons. It was Herbert's fifth game-winning drive this season.

"Your triggerman is the answer for your whole team," Staley told reporters.

"The other thing, if you take a look at the ball game from the sideline, just how into it he was with the defense… he barked at our guys and said, 'I got it. I got it, fellas. You just give us a chance, and we got it.' That's what you want from your triggerman, and that's why I'm proud of him.

"You find out about your quarterback in two-minute, and it was an amazing two-minute drill for him."

The result moves the Chargers into sixth spot in the AFC with an 8-6 record, capitalising on losses for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

The Chargers QB did not throw a touchdown for only the third time in his 46-game NFL career.

Stanley added: "He's not going to be happy with how we play today, and neither am I. That's the other reason why we love him, because he's not satisfied with how we play.

"He has a high standard for performance. You need your best player to play well at the end, and that's what he does."

Herbert, 24, said experience helped him through the game-winning drive, which was the 13th of his three-season career.

"I think it's just one of those things that experience is the best teacher and having gone through that and being able to rep it and knowing that you have the guys around you to make plays," Herbert said.

"Just experiences and knowing that we are going to call the right plays and we're going to get the ball moving."

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