LA Chargers: 3 records that Justin Herbert will break in 2021
By Jason Reed
2. Justin Herbert becomes the youngest player to have a 500-yard game
This is definitely a bold prediction but hey, Justin Herbert definitely has the skills and the weapons to do it. With a more innovative coaching staff that is going to be driven by data, we should see Herbert get more chances to thrive and not only hand the ball off whenever his team takes a lead.
The youngest player to throw for 500 yards is Matthew Stafford, who was 23 years and 328 days old when he accomplished the feat. Ironically, Jared Goff is the second-youngest ever as the two quarterbacks swapped teams this offseason.
It does not matter when in the season it happens, the entire season will play out with Herbert under that age. Herbert is 23 as well, but the 328 days would take him into February, which is when the Super Bowl is played.
The hope is obviously that Herbert will still be playing by then but this is regular-season football we are talking about.
So who are the leading candidates for Herbert to throw 500 yards against? There are two schools of thought. I could see Herbert having a massive game like this against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are not an elite defensive team and there is the chance that we see an offensive shootout in one of the two games similar to the Chiefs-Rams game in 2018.
MORE: Why Justin Herbert will be the league MVP in 2021
The other path is a team with a bad secondary. The Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings all had bottom 10 secondaries in the league last season. All three teams addressed it in some capacity but I would bet on the Cowboys.
It would be the first home game of the season for the Chargers against a good offensive team with a poor defense. That is a game where Justin Herbert and the offensive might be amped up and they win a high-scoring affair in which Herbert crosses the 500 mark.