It was a big day for Justin Herbert through the air vs. the Chiefs with 318 yards, 3 TDs, 73.5% completion, and a 131.7 passer rating. He was absolutely surgical with his arm. But one of the stories from the game might’ve been just how confident Justin Herbert looked with his legs.
Of course, there was his run that sealed the game on 3rd and 14. But there were a couple of other runs that Herbert had throughout the game to remain a factor on the ground. Another particularly explosive run was brought back by a holding penalty. As it turns out, the urgency to run was not an accident. It was intentional.
A secret offseason meeting between Greg Roman and Justin Herbert might’ve sparked the Chargers’ offense.
First, Roman said this about Herbert’s performance as reported by SI’s Albert Breer:
“It’s MVP level,” Roman said. “It really is. That’s a big-time game and he played about as good as you can. … Patrick Mahomes goes down the field and answers, and Justin Herbert comes out, right back at ya, and oh by the way you’re not getting the ball back at the end.”
Breer also reports that Roman specifically went to Oregon in the offseason to figure out the next steps with his quarterback. Breer wrote that Roman gave Herbert the “green light” this year to run more within the context from the offense. This idea apparently stemmed from seeing what quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes were able to do on the ground to help their respective offenses.
Last year, Herbert never got a feel for being able to run the ball consistently. Ironically, 306 rushing yards in 2024 was technically the most of his career. But keep in mind that it wasn’t exactly evenly dispersed throughout the season. Herbert spent about the first third of the season recovering from an August foot issue in addition to an ankle injury that occurred in Week 2 vs. Carolina.
As we saw in Friday’s game, Herbert is maybe as healthy as he’s ever been entering a season. It at least felt that way when watching the game. Making defenses respect the QB’s ability to run is an obvious boost for the offense. Even if Herbert isn’t quite at the level of Allen or Lamar Jackson athletically speaking as a runner, it gives the opposing defense something they need to account for.
Roman had this to say on the effect that Herbert running has on a defense:
“It demoralizes the defense,” Roman said. “They had great coverage, then all of a sudden,’Oh man, another first down’. And it was so cool to beat the Chiefs with that, too. Mahomes does that to everybody. It’s a vital asset.”
As we get further into the 2025 campaign for the Chargers, the meeting Roman and Herbert had this offseason in Oregon could prove pivotal to LA reaching their full potential on the offensive side of the ball.