Horror: Justin Herbert told Laura Rutledge that he was trying to celebrate with his team, which somehow sent the internet up in flames

A lot of people on the internet are trying to convince themselves that Justin Herbert committed some sort of unforgivable sin on Monday night because he did not immediately sprint into a postgame interview with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge after the Chargers beat the Eagles in overtime.

Give me a break.

Justin Herbert had just taken seven sacks, played with a surgically repaired hand, had blood all over his elbow, dragged a battered Chargers offense through four quarters and overtime, and was trying to celebrate a massive win with his teammates.

Laura Rutledge chases him down, gives him the classic “can we just talk really fast” line, he clearly wants a second to breathe, but he is still polite, agrees, and gives her a clean, professional interview.

That is it. That is the entire story.

Horror: Justin Herbert tells Laura Rutledge “I’m trying to celebrate with my team.”

"I'm trying to celebrate with my team."

Justin Herbert was reluctant to do a postgame interview with ESPN's Laura Rutledge. #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/zq1Ho4yN1u

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 9, 2025

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The internet is a wild place.

Since we cannot go thirty seconds without turning something meaningless into a national crisis, the internet decided Justin Herbert was actually committing a violent act against women.

The takes were immediate, dramatic, and predictably terrible.

Fucking relax, Kayce Smith. It will be okay.

Hey bro, you get paid $262 million to play football. When the prime time broadcast wants an interview, you stand there like EVERYBODY ELSE does and do the interview. Grow up.

Kudos, @LauraRutledge. Real pro.

pic.twitter.com/rA2YI0hOM4

— Kayce Smith (@KayceSmith) December 9, 2025

The only thing worse than that crowd is the group of men pretending this is some earth-shattering moment.

Grow a spine, lads.

If you cannot understand that Justin Herbert’s first instinct after an overtime win was to find his teammates rather than deliver a canned answer to a “what was it like” question, maybe sports are not for you.

Go buy one of those pink hats and join a march. I can’t help you.

The reality is simple.

Justin Herbert has always been one of the most polite quarterbacks in the league. He has done countless interviews without a single issue. He still stopped, still talked, and still handled it like a pro.

Meanwhile, Rutledge did her job. She is excellent at her job and handled it like a pro too. This idea that she was “attacked” is ridiculous. Nothing happened. Both people acted like adults. The outrage is manufactured.

Shoutout Laura Rutledge. Class Act.

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

By the way, most sideline reporters will tell you that players already get a heads up about who is likely to be interviewed. The Chargers PR staff knew. Justin Herbert probably knew. He just wanted thirty seconds with his teammates first. That is not disrespect. That is normal human emotion after a bruising NFL game.

If anything, the only misstep here is that a player who just got beaten half to death was forced into the exact type of interview absolutely nobody wants to hear anymore. These “what did this moment mean to you” segments are stale. Ask something new or talk to a defensive player who actually sealed the game with an interception.

Justin Herbert did nothing wrong. Laura Rutledge did nothing wrong either. The world simply has too many people begging to be offended by something.

Everyone needs to calm down. Thank you!

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