Maxx Crosby says Justin Herbert flopped when Crosby pushed him

In the fourth quarter of Sunday's game between the Raiders and the Chargers, L.A. quarterback Justin Herbert celebrated a third-down conversion by shouting in the vicinity of Las Vegas defensive end Maxx Crosby. Crosby didn't like it.

He shoved Herbert. Herbert fell to the ground. Crosby was penalized. Immediately after that, Crosby approached Herbert to talk it out.

Crosby explained what happened on Monday's Let’s Go! podcast on SiriusXM.

“Me and Justin have a long history," Crosby told host Jim Gray. "We've gone against each other, we've battled for years and years and years. And for me, I definitely shouldn't have reacted that way. I just didn't appreciate a guy that, I know him, we've gone to Pro Bowls together, we've had conversations, and he's screaming in my ear and he hasn't said a word all game, you know what I mean? And he's screaming in my ear after a first down. Come on, bro. And I turn around and I push him and he flops. And if you watch the film, not one of his O-linemen came and did anything to me. And nobody did nothing because they knew he flopped. I guess he got me, but if we're gonna talk, you know how I am, I'm gonna talk to you face to face. We're gonna talk our shit."

Crosby decided to hash it out, then and there.

"I walked up to him, I'm like, 'Come on bro, you're better than that,'" Crosby said. "He was just kind of not looking at me and then I forced him, I'm like, 'No, dap me up. I'm like, don't be doing that shit.' I was like, 'You're gonna talk your shit to me, come talk shit to me.' Because I know him. I respect him. I have a ton of respect for Justin. He is a hell of a player. He is a good dude. I know how he is. So he was in the moment and screaming in my ear and I'm like, 'What the fuck?' You know what I mean? I turned around, I'm like, alright, and then he had a great little sell job on the fall. So it is what it is. It's a part of the game. It's a mental part of the game. I gotta be smarter though, ultimately, and not react that way."

Crosby explained more generally the challenge of keeping those feeling in check during a game.

“When you’re in the arena, when the bullets are flying and you’re one of the guys out there doing it, there’s no way to describe that feeling and mentality," Crosby said. "You’re in a whole different space. Yeah, you just gotta be able to control your emotions but ultimately your passion for the game is going to speak and sometimes they get the best of you. It's part of it.”

The 15 yards didn't really matter. The Chargers were up by 10 with 4:07 to play. But Crosby recognizes the importance, and the challenge, of flipping the switch to "off" in between snaps.

Besides, it's hard to fault Crosby for being generally frustrated. He's the best player, by far, on one of the league's worst teams.

Now that minority owner Tom Brady has managed to clone his dog, Brady should dial up a few Maxx Crosby clones, too.