Steelers - 20, Chargers - 10
Q. Justin, how is your ankle feeling?
JUSTIN HERBERT: It's a little sore. I did everything I could to go back in there. I didn't feel like I could move around or really push off of it so that was kind of the decision that was made at the time.
Q. You mentioned to us on Friday that you wanted to feel safe, protect yourself. At what point in the process later Friday, Saturday, this morning did you feel like, OK, I'm going to go out there based on how I feel?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I think it was probably Saturday morning. Got to the walk-through, was able to move around better. Put some tennis shoes on and really tested it out. And then went out again this morning made sure it was okay. Felt comfortable going out there.
Q. Just on the hit, was that really what it was, or was it sort of an accumulation of hits you took or was it just really that specific play?
JUSTIN HERBERT: It had been getting sore up until that point. And I think that play, I can't really remember what exactly happened to it but it must have got twisted up again. Kind of stood back up, realized I couldn't move too great off of it. Got to the sideline and talked about that. Didn't want to attempt --
Q. How do you go through the process of wanting to be out there and wanting to play versus knowing that this is happening and not wanting it to continue to drag through the season?
JUSTIN HERBERT: Yeah, my responsibility as a quarterback is to give everything I can to this team, to my teammates. And I felt like I did that. I pushed myself. I couldn't do it anymore.
And I had a tough time walking on it, moving on it, pushing off of it. And I knew that Taylor gave us a better shot to win. And that's why we believe in him to go out there. And that's why you have guys like that on your team. I'm going to do everything I can to get back, get this thing healthy so we can keep winning.
Q. Did halftime mess with -- we saw you activating before the game, warming up, doing all the stretching and the jogging and everything. Did that kind of, I don't know, make you colder as you came in here?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I think that definitely played a factor into it. You get off your feet and you played an entire half moving around and getting the blood flowing.
But I did my best to come back after halftime and get the thing warmed up. But I think it was ultimately that hit, couple hits before, just wasn't able to do it.
Q. Does it feel worse now than it did after Sunday, like Monday after the Panthers game?
JUSTIN HERBERT: Yeah, that's a good question. I guess that's something that we'll wait to see. I was able to finish the game last Sunday. So it's definitely something to look at.
But I know that we got the right training staff in there. We've got the right medical doctors. So we're going to do everything we can to get this thing going. But we'll see tomorrow.
Q. A few of your teammates commended your effort for giving it the shot the way you did. Did you feel that? Did you feel that motivational effort that your teammates take from when you tough it out like that?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I think it's my job. I think it's my job to go out there and give everything that I've got. And I know that everyone on defense, offense, special teams, they'd do the same. When you get a locker room like that, we believe in each other.
And I know that everyone's hurting out there. Not the way we wanted this one to go down. But we'll get back to work and we'll get it figured out.
Q. How did you feel in the first half?
JUSTIN HERBERT: It was good.
Q. Did you get X-rays done today?
JUSTIN HERBERT: Yeah, a few minutes ago.
Q. Did they tell you the results of those?
JUSTIN HERBERT: No, I think they're just waiting on an MRI. I don't know the exact results of the X-rays. But it's just something that I'll get done in the next couple of days.
Q. Knowing what you went through this week to you get to game day able to start, do you feel optimistic you're able to do for next week?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I'm hopeful. Like I said, we've got great team doctors and great athletic trainers. As long as we're communicating, working together, I think we'll all feel comfortable and safe going out there. They've got my best interests in mind.
Q. Have you had (indiscernible) this spring?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I have not.
Q. It's an aggravation of the same thing you were dealing with? It's not like a separate injury?
JUSTIN HERBERT: I would assume so. I think it's just a continuation of last week's.
Q. What were your conversations with Taylor like after he got in?
JUSTIN HERBERT: Just being supportive, to go out there and play his best ball, and we all believe in him and we know he's the right guy when he goes out there.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports