What looked like a disastrous LA Chargers loss ended up being a much-needed win to stay atop the AFC West. And it was all because Justin Herbert turned in another vintage moment, proving he belongs in the elite tier of quarterbacks.
After a 13-point lead slowly withered away in the second half, the Chargers were faced with a situation they have been in many times before; less than one minute remaining, one timeout, down two. The Chargers needed a Herbert miracle, and that's exactly what they got.
The offensive line, as was the game all game (and all season, for that matter), collapsed on Herbert on a second-and-10 dropback. Herbert powered through the pressure to improbably find Ladd McConkey on a crossing route. McConkey did the rest, taking the ball deep into field goal range to cement the win for the Bolts.
It was a special play that looked even better when compared to Tua Tagovailoa's three-interception day. Herbert has long proven that he is the better quarterback than Tua, and with this remarkable play, Herbert once again made one of his biggest haters eat crow.
"I'm not going to lie, that's one of the sickest I've seen, I'm not going to lie. And I'm not even gassing," former NFL linebacker and FOX Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho said in a video posted on X. "I mean, his lineman got beat clean."
Chargers' Justin Herbert once again forces Emmanuel Acho to eat crow
Acho made headlines when he made Herbert the target of a television tirade back in 2022. Acho called Herbert a social media quarterback, and after the clip gained steam online, Acho tripled-down on his criticisms of Herbert.
Everything Herbert did was a knock against his placement among NFL quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Acho lifted Tagovailoa up as the better quarterback due to the overall success of the Miami Dolphins offense. As Chargers fans knew and argued at the time, Tagovailoa had a far better situation than Herbert at the time, and the numbers were misleading.
Herbert beat Tagovailoa in that season with Acho in attendance. Acho waivered some, but still targeted Herbert with criticism anytime something went wrong. That finally changed in 2025, when earlier this season Acho turned his criticism into true praise.
Sunday's miraculous play may have been the final dagger in Acho's social media quarterback argument. Herbert has proven time and again he is the superior quarterback, and on Sunday, he made a play that Tagovailoa would be lucky to make.
We just have to make sure that Acho doesn't try to switch up yet again later in the season. Herbert still has the deck stacked against him with a disheveled offensive line, which opens the door for criticism. Clearly, though, Herbert is making the most of it.