The question of Justin Herbert's status on a league-wide scale is always going to be a polarizing one, especially amongst fans of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Let's start with an (almost) inarguable statement. Herbert hasn't had a good season. Through his first three games, he amassed just a 59.1% completion rate, 627 passing yards, and three touchdowns to four interceptions.
Those are the raw stats. The real question is—where does the blame lie for the lack of performance we've seen this season? There's been a clear disconnect between Herbert and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel's scheme, and Herbert has struggled to adjust to the quick-timing demands of the new offense. There's also been massive failures in protection and among the Chargers' pass catchers that have made his job near impossible. In the midst of all of that, Herbert has made some absolutely brutal mistakes in the passing game, including the two interceptions we saw in the first half today against the Seattle Seahawks.
But late in this game, as the Chargers attempted to come back from the deep hole they dug themselves into with their offensive inefficiencies in the first half, we saw a glimpse of the scrambling, hit-taking, miracle throw-making Herbert that we've known to this point in his career. A poor 3.5 games isn't the end of Herbert's career, and it's time to think about how he can turn this season around, at least from an individual perspective.
Justin Herbert gave the Chargers a glimmer of hope despite another back-breaking loss in Week 4
This was, needless to say, a win the Chargers needed to come away with. Only one team in the history of the NFL, the 1992 San Diego Chargers, have made the playoffs after starting the season 0-4. They still have five difficult games between now and Week 10 when the schedule lightens up. They may, unfortunately, already be too far gone to salvage this team's playoff hopes.
But this isn't a team that should be playing for the first overall pick in the draft—no matter how things have looked so far this season. Those sorts of teams don't have a quarterback of Herbert's caliber.
I'm not going to sit here and defend everything he's done this season. Those two interceptions today were his fault, and there are numerous ways in which he could've been better to this point in the season. But those sorts of plays are especially frustrating because we know what Herbert can be with the right tools and the right scheme at his disposal.
Perhaps McDaniel's scheme is just an ill fit for Herbert. But with both his starting tackles and his third-string left guard out towards the end of today's game, we saw a glimpse of something we haven't really seen all season—inspired play from the Chargers' quarterback. He was scrambling to avoid pressure while taking hit after hit, and he nailed an especially exciting downfield pass to Tre' Harris that put Los Angeles back within striking distance. He kept getting up off the ground, and he kept the Chargers in the game even when all hope seemed lost.
They came up short, of course, when rookie tackle Logan Taylor let up a strip sack on the Chargers' final drive of the game. But outside of that, Herbert momentarily took the team onto his shoulders. He gave them a chance to win, just like he did for much of last season with a depleted offensive line and an unimaginative offensive scheme.
Herbert is the type of quarterback that can turn this team around if he plays to his level and gets the help he needs from the offense's complementary pieces. He simply needs to be better, and so does the team around him.
We saw, at the very least, a glimpse of that in the second half of today's game. If there's any silver lining to take away from this loss, it's that Herbert showed a glimpse of the quarterback we know him to be.
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