The Chargers learned a very valuable lesson with their win over the Steelers on Sunday night: just put the ball in Justin Herbert’s hands and get out of the way.
As everyone who follows football knows, Herbert has already become one of the top quarterbacks in the league just 25 games into his career. His physical talent was the reason the Chargers felt comfortable rolling the dice on him with the sixth pick of the 2020 NFL Draft and he has rewarded them by rapidly improving his game to the point where the entire offense can be run through his howitzer for a right arm.
Herbert’s success — after a couple of up-and-down games earlier this year –embodies the reasons why old school scouts love a big, tall quarterback with a strong arm that can hang tough in the pocket. When your quarterback can throw a laser beam 50 yards down the field it opens up a completely different style of offense. It’s not one that the Chargers embrace as much as they should, but it seems like Herbert can pull off a big play whenever he feels like it.
Justin Herbert with a 55 yard crossfield rope to Mike Williams on a pull-up shot play. pic.twitter.com/NxkPvaHcF2
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 8, 2021
The Steelers saw firsthand just how easy professional football can be for Herbert at times. Herbert brings the same level of physical dominance as a guy like Lamar Jackson or Michael Vick, but in a different way. Herbert one of the best athletes on every field he steps on, it just manifests itself in a different way.
Most quarterbacks in the league shouldn’t even be attempting this throw and he puts it right on the money on the far hash. If this throw happened in Madden it would be frustrating and he uncorks that ball without even breaking a sweat.
His arm lets him get away with off platform and off balance throws as well. He has a higher margin for error in his process because his physical talent allows him to make throws that would be tougher for most quarterbacks. Falling away from pressure towards his off hand? No problem when you have an arm capable of throwing the ball over the moon.
Herbert can effortlessly throw the football and make top throws on a routine basis, but his ability to scramble and make plays with his legs makes him the ultimate offensive threat.
Just Sunday night against the Steelers, Herbert ran for 90 yards on nine carries and generated 7.7 expected points added on his scrambles, according to Ben Baldwin of The Athletic. That’s over a touchdown’s worth of value he provided with just his ability to extend plays with his legs.
The fascinating part with Herbert is that there’s still room for his consistency to grow as he gets more and more reps against NFL defenses. He’s already one of the most valuable players in the league with so little football under his belt compared to what he still has left to accomplish in his career.
The Chargers have an undeniably good one. As Sunday showed, he’s completely capable of taking a game over as long as the team isn’t afraid to hand him the keys and let him work.
[mm-video type=video id=01fn3x21py225kj967zx playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fn3x21py225kj967zx/01fn3x21py225kj967zx-d799867c48e47aa2bde50d934e0611b7.jpg]
[listicle id=1277897]