Featured Columnist IVDecember 20, 2024
B/R
If there was any doubt as to Justin Herbert’s affect throughout the Los Angeles Chargers locker room, he put that to mattress in Thursday’s 34-27 comeback win over the Denver Broncos.
“We’d observe him into the depths of hell,” offensive guard Trey Pipkins III mentioned, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. “We’d actually observe him anyplace and lay our lives on the road for that man.”
Pipkins added that Herbert went “sicko mode” towards Denver and is a “f–king animal.”
Herbert’s remaining stat line is sweet however not essentially distinctive. He completed 23-of-31 for 284 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
However the second-half show from the 2021 Professional Bowler was a efficiency that justified all the hype that has adopted him from early into his NFL profession. The Chargers reeled off 21 unanswered factors throughout one stretch because the Broncos protection had no reply for slowing L.A. down.
The performs Herbert executed have been additionally what you’d count on of an elite signal-caller. On his 19-yard landing go to Derius Davis early within the fourth quarter, he was shifting to his left as he floated the ball excessive to his receiver.
Los Angeles Chargers @chargers
what a throw
All of the whereas, the 26-year-old remains to be coping with a nagging ankle injury. That did not cease him from working for 28 yards on eight carries.
Chargers offensive deal with Rashawn Slater referred to as Herbert “the final word competitor,” per Popper.
“He uplifts everyone round him, simply the way in which he goes about his enterprise, the fireplace he performs with,” Slater mentioned. “He is unbelievable. I’ve by no means seen something prefer it.”
One prevailing narrative surrounding Herbert is that his stats inflate his precise worth. Absolutely a quarterback together with his fame would have multiple playoff begin by way of his first 4 years.
The counter to that argument is that the Chargers’ points on the sector prolonged properly past the output of their beginning quarterback.
Herbert’s 216.2 passing yards per sport are on tempo to be a profession low. Ought to Los Angeles punch a ticket to the postseason—it is sitting sixth within the AFC at 9-6—he is nonetheless prone to begin successful over a few of his longstanding skeptics.
