Against all odds, the LA Chargers are back in the NFL Playoffs with back-to-back 11-win seasons. Most NFL teams would have cratered under the same circumstances as the Chargers, who instead took it as a minor speed bump to get back to where they belong.
Justin Herbert's superhuman heroics are a big reason for the team's success. While he has also gotten help from the defensive side of the ball, Herbert has put a dysfunctional offense on his back. The overall numbers may not be MVP-worthy, but you can easily make the case he's better than whoever will actually win the MVP.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman certainly thinks Herbert's 2025 campaign was MVP worthy. Roman was rather blunt about that when speaking to the media on Thursday, even if he's part of the hurdles that Herbert has to overcome without realizing it (h/t Daniel Popper, The Athletic).
"To me, it was an MVP season with all the attrition we had and what he's been able to do to lead the team to a playoff berth," Roman said.
Greg Roman snitches on himself by calling Justin Herbert's season MVP-worthy
The attrition Roman is mentioning is the offensive line woes. Both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt suffered season-ending injuries and that was just the tip of the iceberg. The Chargers rolled out two dozen different offensive line combinations throughout the course of the season.
Statistically, the offensive line was the worst in the league and it didn't leave any room for interpretation.
Ironically enough, Roman is also part of the attrition that Herbert has had to overcome. To say the Chargers' offensive play-calling has been uninspired would be an understatement. Fans have had issues with Roman since the moment he was hired, and that hasn't changed despite two successful seasons.
Sadly enough, these roadblocks will serve as the ultimate x-factor on whether or not the Bolts can make a Super Bowl run. With a healthy offensive line and above-average play-caller the Chargers would be Super Bowl favorites and would probably be the No. 1 seed.
But that isn't the reality the Bolts live in. Herbert has carried the Chargers this far, the real test will now be how far he can carry the team into the NFL Playoffs.
Thankfully, the playoff bracket appears to be breaking favorably for the Bolts, which could help the team overachieve on Herbert's back. But if the Bolts really want to commit to being Super Bowl favorites next year, they have to fix the shortcomings of this year's team.
That means getting healthy on the offensive line and using the team's ample resources this offseason to add more offensive line help. With Slater and Alt back, and at least two new starters on the interior, the Bolts could legitimately go from the worst offensive line in the league to one of the best.
And what about Roman? Well, we'll see how the NFL Playoffs go. If the Chargers drop a stinker in the playoffs behind uninspired play-calling, and the right name becomes available, Jim Harbaugh could be aggressive in fixing that shortcoming as well.