After years of hype and waiting for a breakthrough that just isn’t happening, Justin Herbert is holding back the Los Angeles Chargers, big time. Their season is already a disaster at 0-2 after a brutal 26-14 home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, and Herbert’s play is at the center of it all. For too long, scouts, coaches, and everyone in the media gushed over his arm, his legs, his mechanics, his potential. Heading into every season since his rookie year, the NFL braced for his inevitable greatness. Let’s be real, folks: we were all just wrong.
The “Prototype” QB Is Holding Back His Own Team
Seriously, after six NFL seasons and now two ugly games this year, it’s time to accept Herbert for what he truly is: a good quarterback, but not one destined for greatness. He is no longer being held back by a poor situation. In 2026, he is flat-out holding back the Chargers. Yeah, his offensive line can be terrible at times, and his receivers drop too many passes. We see it. But the best quarterbacks, the truly great ones, find ways to elevate their teams despite all that. It is clear that Herbert just does not do that. His shortcomings were on full display Sunday. He went just 15 of 27 for 192 yards, with one touchdown pass and two brutal interceptions. He got outplayed by Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins. One week ago, he was outplayed by Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Two “awful” teams, and the Chargers lost to both. Was it all his fault? Of course not. But that is not the standard for a franchise quarterback. And it sure as heck isn’t the standard for a guy Jim Harbaugh recently claimed “will be known as the greatest, best ever to play the position of quarterback” by the time his career ends. C’mon, man. Herbert isn’t even on the fringe of the fringe of that conversation. Even at his record pace to 25,000 career passing yards, he doesn’t seem destined to pass Chargers legends like Dan Fouts or Philip Rivers.
Dark-Horse Hopes Are Already Gone
Herbert does put up numbers, there is no denying that. But he was expected to transcend those numbers, especially after Harbaugh hired Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator this season. McDaniel was supposed to be the guy who would finally unlock Herbert’s greatness. That hire was why the Chargers were considered a dark-horse Super Bowl contender just two weeks ago. Their title odds were equal to the Eagles and even better than the Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, and 49ers! It’s wild to think about that now. The season is still young, but the 28-year-old Herbert is not. And the McDaniel addition hasn’t helped one bit. The only logical conclusion is that Herbert is simply missing what makes quarterbacks great. Ernie Accorsi, the legendary former Giants GM who passed away Saturday, described that bar perfectly: “Can they take their team down the field with the championship on the line and into the end zone?” In other words, how do QBs perform in the biggest moments? Well, Herbert is 0-3 in the playoffs for his career, and he played pretty poorly in each of those three games. The biggest moments have been his biggest failures.
The Chargers are 0-2 and Herbert’s status as an elite signal-caller is hanging by a thread. There’s a long season ahead, but the early trends are not good for Los Angeles, and the pressure on Herbert just went from simmering to boiling.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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