Following the Los Angeles Chargers’ 22-19 overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, winning quarterback Justin Herbert had an uncharacteristically awkward interaction with ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge.
Herbert, who played through a broken left hand in the win, clearly wanted no part of doing a postgame interview with Rutledge, who had to stop and coax the veteran signal caller into going on camera.
On Tuesday, Rutledge laughed off the exchange, which caused noticeable backlash online, signaling she is ready for everyone to move off the topic.
Herbert in no mood for camera time on Monday
Herbert has done plenty of on-field interviews after games before, but for some reason, he didn’t want to speak with Rutledge last night.
“Yeah, I’m trying to celebrate with my team,” Herbert as he tried to avoid the longtime journalist.
“No, I know, but can we just talk to you really fast?” Rutledge replied, undeterred.
Eventually, Herbert stopped and provided quick commentary. Even ESPN play-by-play man Joe Buck noticed how awkward the whole scene was, hinting as much after the interview concluded.
Rutledge shakes off the tension
Some people immediately took to social media to say Herbert was in the wrong and had been rude to Rutledge. However, it doesn’t sound like the ESPN broadcaster is dwelling on what happened.
On Tuesday afternoon, Rutledge shared a video on X/Twitter from an NFL memes Instagram account that had been altered with AI to make it look like Herbert had actually punched her in the face.
“Rough day at the office. Let’s all have a good laugh and move on!” Rutledge wrote in the caption of the tweet.
Rough day at the office 🤣🤣 let’s all have a good laugh and move on!
https://t.co/eZf1i1sx2s— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) December 9, 2025
If we’re being honest, it’s a little weird Rutledge chose to amplify this particular video, given the fact it is AI and depicts her being punched by Herbert. At least she’s not stressing over the weird interview itself.
We’ll see if Herbert addresses what happened publicly later this week.
