The Offensive Rookie of the Year award has been a tight race between quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow.
You can make an argument for both signal-callers, but like myself, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler believes that Herbert’s play at the halfway point of the 2020 season is deserving of it.
Despite attempting 68 fewer passes, Herbert has more passing touchdowns (15) than Burrow (11), holding the edge in completion percentage (67.4) and passing yards per game (303.3). He has also been more impressive when it comes to pushing the ball downfield, accounting for 23 passing plays of 20-plus yards, compared to 20 for Burrow. With his three touchdown passes against Denver on Sunday, Herbert joined Deshaun Watson as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history with three-plus touchdown passes in four straight games.
Even though Herbert’s record as starting quarterback might not be appealing, he’s been the primary reason why Los Angeles has been able to stay competitive and have huge leads in all of their games. Unfortunately, the other side of the ball has let him down.
The former Oregon product is completing 67.4% of his passes, throwing for 1,820 yards and 15 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions this season. While Burrow is on pace to break Andrew Luck’s rookie passing yards record (4,374), Herbert has two less games under his belt.
The bottom line is that it’s going to be close, but it will be fun to watch how the rest of the season unfolds for both Herbert and Burrow. Either way, the future appears to be bright for both quarterbacks.