Justin Herbert is fresh off of arguably the greatest rookie season by a quarterback in NFL history. The LA Chargers quarterback broke several rookie passing records, with the one record he fell short in being the all-time rookie passing yards record.
If Herbert would have played all 16 games he undoubtedly would have broken it. In fact, if Week 17 was a more competitive game than he likely would have broken it, as he was only 39 yards shy of breaking Andrew Luck’s record.
So we know it is one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history, but how does Herbert’s year compare to the best seasons in franchise history/
Factoring all the stats as well as the team’s success, here are the five greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback.
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 5. Justin Herbert, 2020
Yep, ripping the bandage off right away. As much as I wanted to have recency bias and make Herbert higher on this list, I just could not. He belongs in the top five but it is hard to put him any higher, for multiple reasons.
First, Herbert was only 6-9 as a starter. Of course, a lot of that was because of the coaching staff and the typical Charger mistakes, but it still does matter and makes a difference. Plus, he only played 15 games.
Now, we can theorize and average out what his numbers would have looked like if he played Week 1, but that is all hypothetical. We have to go with what we have.
Herbert finished the 2020 season with the sixth-most passing touchdowns, 10th most yards (fifth-most yards per game) and the third-best completion percentage (with at least 4,000 passing yards).
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 4. Philip Rivers, 2008
There were so many different Philip Rivers seasons to choose from and you are going to see more on this list. The recently-retired quarterback is the best in franchise history for a reason and there are even more great seasons that were left off the list.
Getting it at number four is Rivers’ 2008 campaign. The Chargers were just 8-8 in this season but made it to the NFL Playoffs and shockingly beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Round, which is known now as the Darren Sproles game.
This was the first season in which Rivers looked like he was the legitimate future of the franchise, not that he was simply a young quarterback that was benefitting from LaDainian Tomlinson (which he was).
Ironically enough, Rivers did not even get named to the Pro Bowl in this season. However, he did lead the league in touchdown passes with 34, which is the most that a quarterback has had in a single season for the Chargers. He also led in yards per passing attempt.
Rivers finished the season with 4,009 yards but crossed the 4,000 mark in only 478 attempts. Justin Herbert had 127 more attempts in one fewer game. If Rivers had 595 attempts in 2008, based on his average, he would have finished with 4,998 yards.
Rivers was not good in that Wild Card game against the Colts but he did play fairly well in a loss against the Steelers in the Divisional Round, throwing for 308 yards with three touchdowns. The problem was that they had virtually no run game with LT out.
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 3. Dan Fouts, 1981
Dan Fouts was the greatest quarterback in franchise history and is the only quarterback in franchise history to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame… that is, until Rivers eventually gets in when he is eligible.
There are plenty of Fouts seasons to look at as he helped revolutionize the game of football alongside coach Don Coryell in the “Air Coryell” offense. This was an air-raid offense that is prominent in today’s game, but was unheard of 40 years ago.
The problem with Fouts is he threw the ball a lot and was not always all that efficient. Thus, it is hard to put a lot of his seasons on this list.
His 1981 season absolutely does belong on the list, though. Fouts set the single-season franchise record in passing yards in 1981, a record that still stands today. He finished the season with 4,802 yards and 33 touchdowns, the second-most in franchise history.
However, as mentioned, he threw the ball a lot. Fouts attempted 609 passes, the second most behind Philip Rivers in 2015 (which is not on the list).
The 1981 Chargers went 10-6 and made it to the AFC Championship Game, albeit they were blown out with the Cincinnati Bengals. So he had a winning record, has the passing yards record and is second in touchdowns — why does this Fouts season rank third?
The simple answer is that Fouts inefficiency. Fouts had only a 59.11 completion percentage and threw 17 picks.
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 2. Philip Rivers, 2018
The 2018 season was so fun. The Chargers won so many close games that they typically lose and gave us fans the best season the team has had since the LT days back in the mid-to-late 2000s. A big reason for the team’s success was a dang good season by Philip Rivers.
Rivers was legitimately the third horse in an MVP race that included Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees. Mahomes was obviously always going to win, but Rivers was undoubtedly the third-best quarterback in the league that season and he had the narrative.
This was Rivers’ second-most efficient season of his career (and the second-most efficient season by any Chargers quarterback). He completed 68.31% of his passes with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
This was the third-best season of Rivers’ career in terms of wins and the team made it to the AFC Divisional Round after a statement win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Round. Unfortunately, the Chargers were severely outcoached and Gus Bradley’s defense was exposed.
Rivers finished with 4,308 passing yards, which might not be the most impressive number, but he did what he had to do and put the Chargers in positions to win and was actually winning these close games.
Heck, Rivers was on pace for much more passing yards if he did not have a bad game against Baltimore in Week 16 and then a quiet game in a relatively pointless Week 17 game. He threw for a combined 307 yards in those two games. He easily could have finished above 4,500 yards.
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 1. Philip Rivers, 2013
We probably did not realize it at the time but this was prime Philip Rivers. And you might scoff at the notion that the Rivers that led the 2013 Chargers was the best in franchise history but he was so dang good this year despite not having that much help.
Rivers completed 69.5% of his passes, which is the best mark for a Chargers quarterback. He finished with 4,478 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His 105.5 passer rating is tied with several other of his seasons for the best in franchise history.
Just look at the supporting cast that Rivers had. It was not terrible, but he certainly has had much more in his career.
Ryan Mathews had a solid season, so we have to give credit where credit is due there. Rivers’ number one target was a rookie Keenan Allen, who is a beast, but was still just a rookie. Antonio Gates was still good but not prime Gates and his other receiving targets were Eddie Royal and Vincent Brown. Again, not the best weapons.
His offensive line was better than it has been in other years but it was still not great as he was sacked 30 times. Justin Herbert was sacked 32 times this season.
Rivers took a not-that-talented Chargers team and beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card Round and went toe-to-toe with the best team in the AFC that season, the Denver Broncos.
The Chargers lost just 17-24 and could have had a chance to tie and win the game. The Chargers had all the momentum down the stretch, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, 10 of which were unanswered.
The Bolts had a chance, but could not get a stop. With 3:06 left in the game, the Chargers forced the Broncos to a third and 17 that the Broncos were able to convert. With 2:12 left in the game they forced another third down, third and six, and again could not get a stop.
If 2013 Philip Rivers had the 2006-2009 supporting cast then I think the Chargers would have won the Super Bowl that season.