The Chargers had Justin Herbert’s back after Jerry Tillery’s inexcusable late hit.
The Los Angeles Chargers drafted defensive tackle Jerry Tillery with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Notre Dame product never lived up to the Chargers’ high hopes, and the team eventually waived him during his fourth season. Tillery would catch on inside the division with the Las Vegas Raiders, and on Sunday he got the opportunity to face-off against his former team.
With the Chargers, Tillery had a reputation for making bone-headed plays and drawing penalties. It happened again in the Week 4 matchup, and this time he was ejected for it.
Tillery was tossed by the officials late in the second quarter after a late hit on Chargers QB Justin Herbert. Tillery smacked Herbert when he was already clearly out of bounds on a scramble. The rest of the Chargers immediately ran up to protect their quarterback, and sounded extra frustrated with their former teammate after the game.
The Chargers went on to beat the Raiders, 24-17. Watch the play here:
That’s an inexcusable mistake in today’s NFL. Herbert was fine and finished the afternoon with an electric third down throw to Joshua Palmer for a 51 yards to ice the win.
Even Raiders star Maxx Crosby was upset at Tillery in the moment. Crosby knows a stupid mistake that going to hurt his team when he sees one.
The real star for the Chargers on Sunday was Khalil Mack, who finished with six sacks and two forced fumbles in one of the best passing rushing performances you will ever see.
Mack called Tillery’s hit “bullshit” after the game, and said even Tillery knew it. Mack also noted that he liked the Chargers response rushing to defend Herbert.
Herbert didn’t take a chance to criticize Tillery after the game, chalking the hit up to football being an emotional game. The QB said he appreciated the way his teammates had his back after it happened.
Justin Herbert takes the high road on Jerry Tillery hit.
On his team rallying around him, “I thought it was cool the way our team reacted.” pic.twitter.com/JBoRfqKM0z
— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) October 2, 2023
The Chargers are 2-2 after losing their first two games of the season. As long as they keep protecting Herbert, the team will have a real chance to turn this season around.
