As a first-round draft prospect coming out of the University of Oregon, Justin Herbert naturally drew comparisons to several NFL quarterbacks, both past and present, one of whom was the great Peyton Manning, perhaps somewhat due to the two having similar size, stature, and strength.
Now, living up to a comparison like that is obviously no easy feat for anyone, given everything Manning accomplished throughout the course of his Hall of Fame career, one that included a pair of Super Bowl wins, five NFL MVPs, 10 total All-Pro selections, and 14 Pro Bowl nods.
But while it may not seem that Herbert has done so over his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, he's actually been better than Peyton was in his first five years with the Indianapolis Colts.
Yes, you read that correctly.
As Herbert prepares for his sixth season, several Chargers fans have been throwing statements like this around social media sites, so we decided to take a deep dive into the numbers. And the similarities between the two are actually quite eerie.
Justin Herbert has better overall stats than Peyton Manning did in his first five NFL seasons
Here's a quick side-by-side look at Justin Herbert's stats from his first five years with the Bolts compared to those of Peyton Manning in his first five seasons with the Colts.
Stat | Justin Herbert | Peyton Manning |
|---|---|---|
Games/Starts | 79/79 | 80/80 |
Reg. Season Record | 41-38 | 42-38 |
Completions | 1,945 | 1,749 |
Attempts | 2,926 | 2,817 |
Comp% | 66.5 | 62.1 |
Pass Yards | 21,093 | 20,618 |
Pass TDs | 137 | 138 |
Interceptions | 45 | 100 |
Passer Rating | 96.7 | 85.9 |
Postseason Record | 0-2 | 0-3 |
Pretty freaky, right?
As you can see, the regular-season win-loss records are nearly identical. And while some might point to the fact that Herbert has more passing yards because he had more attempts, it needs to be noted that his completion percentage is superior by several points.
Manning may have thrown one more touchdown pass, but it certainly can't be ignored that he also tossed a whopping 55 more interceptions, due in large part to the rookie-record 28 he threw in 1998.
Not everyone buys into passer rating, but Herbert holds a significant edge there as well, outperforming Peyton 96.7 to 85.9 in that regard.
Another similarity between the two is that each had multiple head coaches in the early years of their respective careers.
Manning had Jim Mora at the helm for four seasons before Tony Dungy took over in 2002. Herbert, meanwhile, has already had three head coaches in Anthony Lynn, Brandon Staley, and now Jim Harbaugh, four if you count Giff Smith's three-game interim run after Staley was fired toward the end of the 2023 season.
To his credit, Manning led the Colts to three postseason appearances in his first five seasons, while Herbert has taken the Chargers to the playoffs only twice. That said, though, the number of wins is the same at zero.
Peyton finally earned his first playoff victory in Year 6, actually leading Indy to a pair of postseason wins before losing the AFC title game to, of course, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. That 2003 campaign also marked the first of Manning's record five NFL MVPs.
So, suffice it to say, if he wants to keep on this Peyton Manning career track, the pressure is on for Justin Herbert in 2025.