Justin Herbert lost Thursday's game, but he won plenty of respect along the way.

The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback took a hard hit in the fourth quarter of Thursday's 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and remained down for some time. He exited for a play with a rib injury but quickly returned to the field even with his team facing a 10-point deficit and extremely unlikely chance at a comeback.

It was obvious he was in pain, but he still managed to throw a touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer on fourth down to cut into the deficit.

Los Angeles was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick and fell three points short against its division rival, but Herbert earned plenty of praise for his toughness:

Chris Jones was the biggest problem for Herbert and the Chargers offensive line, as he finished with two sacks, two quarterback hits and a pass defended. Herbert was forced to evade pressure for much of the evening, and he certainly paid a price at times.

Ultimately, though, it was his pick-six to Jaylen Watson that proved to be the difference. It seemed as if Los Angeles was going to take the lead in the fourth quarter when Watson intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for a score.

The Chiefs never gave up the lead from there as Herbert labored to finish the game.