Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert strung together another strong outing in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers.
[sendtonews_embed video_id=”3jY2hH0uwO-985274-6173″]
For the second week in a row, rookie quarterback Justin Herbert almost guided the Chargers to victory. Despite the loss to the Panthers, Herbert continued to show why he is capable of being the franchise’s starter for years to come.
Los Angeles’ first-round pick made some mistakes, which included opening the game by getting sacked, then fumbling the ball. Later in the first half when he was trying to lead his team to get some points before halftime, he threw an interception that got returned to the eight-yard line.
Coming out of the locker room, Herbert didn’t let the first half mistakes linger. Instead, he made the necessary adjustments and the flow of the offense was evident because of it.
Since L.A. was forced to play catch-up, they had to resort to the passing game and it was effective, consistently moving the ball down the field in the second half.
Near the end of the game, Herbert hit wide receiver Keenan Allen in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown, delivering an absolute dart between two defenders.
With a little over a minute to play and no timeouts, he received the ball at the one-yard line, and he drove the Chargers down the field. He got them to the 28-yard line, and they had two plays to try and win it.
If the final play, which was a hook-and-ladder between Allen and running back Austin Ekeler, worked, Los Angeles would have won the game and the rookie would’ve been the hero of the game.
“I thought the young quarterback did a nice job taking his team down the field with no timeouts, (gave us a) chance to win the football game,” coach Anthony Lynn said.
Herbert finished the game 35-of-49 passing for 330 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He is only the third quarterback since the 1970 NFL merger to throw for more than 300 passing yards in their first two career games. Cam Newton and Kyler Murray were the other two.
But Herbert’s performance goes way beyond the box score.
Herbert showed strides in an area that he was knocked for coming out of college, which was having an inconsistent feel for pressure and lacking methodical pocket movements when plays would break down.
Today, Herbert, who was dealing with a rocky offensive line all afternoon, didn’t look rattled at all when facing pressure. He displayed sound footwork with steady rhythm and poise from snap to delivery, inside and outside the pocket.
Following the game, his teammates gave him high praise for Sunday’s showing.
“He had a couple situations where he literally changed the entire play and ended it up making it work. That’s starting to give me some confidence saying that this guy knows what he’s doing,” Ekeler said.
Allen said the one positive from this game was the potential he noticed with Herbert running the offense.
While Herbert has yet to pick up his first NFL win, he has shown that he is more than capable of being Los Angeles’ guy for years to come.
