Justin Herbert fractured his left hand in Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders and it didn't stop him from getting in a scuffle with Maxx Crosby. Crosby, who has to be sick of losing at this point, shoved Herbert to the ground after the star quarterback rightfully celebrated a key first down in the fourth quarter.
Herbert channeled his inner Philip Rivers in the moment and was celebrating in an animated way in Crosby's direction. Was it enough for Crosby to literally put his hands on Herbert? Not at all. But when you lose as much as the Raiders do, you can at least understand why Crosby let the heat of the moment get to him.
All-22 footage from the game also shows why Herbert probably got fired up in the first place. Daniel Popper of The Athletic was the first to point out a potentially dirty play by the Raiders, who seemingly were trying to hurt Herbert's injured left hand.
The play, which you can see on Popper's X account in the linked post here, was two plays before an animated Herbert upset Crosby. Kimani Vidal bounced a run to the left and Herbert got up field to set a relatively inconsequential block. As Vidal was being tackled, linebacker Elandon Roberts specifically brushed up on Herbert's left side, and appeared to swipe at the injured left hand.
Just Raiders doing Raiders things.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers continue to look innocent for Raiders scuffle
We can't say for certain that Roberts was going for Herbert's injured left hand, it's just really convenient that the path he took to an already-over play so happened to brush right up against Herbert, including what seemed like a reach at his left hand.
But hey, maybe it is all just a misunderstanding! It's not like anyone on the Raiders would put their hands on Herbert when the play is already over in a game that is already over.
Oh wait. That's exactly what Crosby did two plays later because he was upset Herbert was celebrating too much. Is he a football player or a pitcher from the 1990s who doesn't like when a batter bat flips a home run?
Raiders fans are trying to act like Herbert had what was coming to him simply because he celebrated a little bit too closely to Crosby. In reality, as seems to be the case in previous scuffles with the Raiders, it was someone on the Las Vegas sideline who likely started the entire thing.
Hey, they might not be able to win many games. But at least they can shove unsuspecting quarterbacks with the best of them!