Justin Herbert prides himself on being prepared. He was not prepared for what Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh delivered pregame.
Harbaugh repeatedly pounded his quarterback’s chest in a pump-up routine.
“I just wasn’t ready for it,” Herbert said, via the team website.. “I thought it was a moment to like, “Hey, let’s go get this.’ Dap up.
“But he hit me a couple times, and I thought that was it, and then he kept going back for more. I’ll be much better the next time.”
Herbert quipped that Harbaugh could hit him a little harder next time.
“He took it light on me. He could have hit me harder,” Herbert said. “I’ll ask him next time, like, ‘Hey, you got to make sure I feel some of those punches.’”
Herbert then fired up his teammates with an impassioned pregame speech that may or may not have included some profanity. Video was posted on social media before the Chargers’ 22-10 victory over the Raiders.
The mild-mannered quarterback joked that “Football Justin” took over.
“That’s part of being the quarterback, just stepping up and leading and doing everything you can,” Herbert said. “But I didn’t see the video, so hopefully I didn’t say anything too bad.”