The Los Angeles Chargers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11. The game looked to get away from the Bolts early on with the Jags cruising to a 35-6 victory. With the loss, the Chargers drop to 7-4 and continue to be a complete rollercoaster of a team.
Following the blowout loss, quarterback Justin Herbert spoke to the media and did what everyone expected him to do. That was to shoulder the blame even though everyone knows Herbert is the least of this team's problems. During his postgame presser, Herbert put the loss on him and said that he has to be better about getting rid of the football and not taking so many sacks.
"I have to play better. It's not good enough for this team," Herbert said after the 35-6 loss to the Jaguars. "Sometimes a throwaway is better than a sack... It's part of the job...I could've done a much better job at getting rid of the ball and not taking those sacks."
Chargers’ loss vs. Jaguars sparks brutally honest moment from Justin Herbert
This is a frustrating moment for Chargers fans because, clearly, this team's problems are not on Herbert. He has an offensive line in front of him that's basically being held together by duct tape so anytime that's the case, it'll be hard for the quarterback to do much of anything.
The Jaguars finished the day with three sacks (two of those on Herbert, the other coming against backup Trey Lance) and six QB hits, making it crystal clear that what the Bolts have upfront isn't good enough. Trevor Penning got his first start with the Chargers and we saw exactly why the Saints were willing to get rid of him, as he did his best impression of a turnstile.
At the end of the day, the Chargers have done a good job building the o-line but injuries took Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater from them for the season. It'll obviously be tough to find guys talented enough to fill those guys' shoes but as long as guys like Penning, Austin Deculus, and Trey Pipkins are continuing to get meaningful snaps, we'll continue to see performances like these from the o-line.
While Herbert shouldn't need to take accountability here (he did all he could in an atrocious situation), Chargers fans know by now that this is simply the kind of guy he is. He's not going to throw his teammates under the bus and will take accountability. He deserves better for sure.