Chargers' Justin Herbert just turned his biggest hater into a huge fan

Former NFL linebacker turned analyst Emmanuel Acho has never hidden the fact that he's not the biggest fan of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

While Herbert easily won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 with 4,336 passing yards (the second-most by a rookie all-time) and 31 touchdowns (the most ever by a rookie) and has since set the league records for the most passing yards through two seasons, three seasons, four seasons, and five seasons, Acho has never really bought into the hype, once calling the Oregon alum a "social media quarterback," saying highlights thrown on TikTok or Instagram made Herbert look better than he actually was.

He also once opined that Herbert might be the most overrated QB in league history, citing big losses in big moments, such as a 2021 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that kept the Chargers from making the playoffs, a 2022 postseason loss in which Los Angeles blew a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and this past January's 20-point defeat to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round in which Herbert threw four interceptions.

But even Acho couldn't help but be impressed with what Herbert did on Sunday, as he led Los Angeles to a 23-20 comeback victory over the Denver Broncos, thus giving the Chargers their first 3-0 start since the 2002 campaign. Specifically, Acho, like many others, couldn't quite believe the 20-yard touchdown pass Herbert threw to Keenan Allen with 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 20-20.

On his official X account, Acho broke down the play on video and had this to say:

"Justin Herbert…. How??? The dude always had “talent,” cool. But this year he’s been CLUTCH. Wow wow wow."

Justin Herbert is even converting Emmanuel Acho into a believer

What a world we live in, am I right? Okay, maybe we don't need to get that deep, but when Justin Herbert has Emmanuel Acho showing him love on social media (oh, the irony), we know we're seeing something special this season. And there's really no other way to put it.

Did Herbert look his absolute best on Sunday against Denver? Truth be told, no, he didn't, as this was actually his worst overall performance of the season, as he completed a season-low 59.6% of his passes, threw his first interception of the year, and earned a campaign-worst 76.6 passer rating.

But as Acho pointed out, Herbert was clutch, making the big plays when he needed to and leading the two late scoring drives to get his team the win. And the 27-year-old was undoubtedly the best player on the field in each of the Chargers' first two games, completing 72.1% of his passes for a combined 560 yards and five touchdowns with no picks in victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders.

Postseason success will obviously define how Herbert's sixth season is remembered, but he's certainly off to a hot start and even has his biggest haters turning into believers.