Jim Harbaugh isn’t sugarcoating the state of Justin Herbert’s play.
After previously describing Herbert as a quarterback who could end up as the best in NFL history, Harbaugh took a direct shot at the Chargers star’s decision-making this week, saying he needs to “be better.”
“ Be better,” Harbaugh told reporters. “Be better.
And that drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike [McDaniel], the [offensive] coordinator. I mean, drives us all.”
The comments come with the Chargers sitting at 0-3, and Harbaugh followed that up by broadening the critique beyond Herbert alone.
“We want to be better,” Harbaugh said. “We got to be better.
We got to look at our scheme. We got to look at how we’re performing, how we’re doing things and who’s doing it.”
Herbert’s latest outing only added to the concern. In Sunday’s loss to the Bills, a game that included a blown 10-0 lead, he went 20 of 34 for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His passer rating this season is a career-low 73.4, a steep drop from his previous full-season low of 93.2.
One possible explanation for the offense’s struggles is the fit between Herbert and McDaniel. There has been plenty of attention on the Oscar Madison/Felix Unger contrast between Harbaugh and McDaniel, but much less on how Herbert and McDaniel might be meshing.
McDaniel is described as verbose and quirky. Herbert is quiet and no-nonsense. It’s possible those personalities haven’t clicked in a way that allows the offense to function the way it should.
And with a 0-6 start now in play - the Chargers still have the Seahawks, Broncos, and Chiefs before a Week 7 bye - the pressure on this offense is only getting heavier. The biggest change on that side of the ball has been the team’s decision to move on from offensive coordinator Greg Roman and replace him with McDaniel.
In Other News...
Justin Herbert Took A Brutal National TV Shot In Chargers Loss
Justin Herberts rough night against Buffalo got even louder in the fourth quarter, when a mistake in a big spot turned into national-TV criticism from one of the most recognizable voices in football. In the Chargers Week 3 loss, Herberts interception was picked off by Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and quickly helped set up the kind of response drive that can swing a game, with Buffalo finishing off a 24-16 win.
Tom Brady, working the FOX booth with Kevin Burkhardt, did not soften the moment as it unfolded. For Herbert and the Chargers, it was the sort of sequence that can linger beyond the box score, especially when the turnover comes late enough to change the entire feel of the game and leaves the team trying to explain another missed chance against a quality opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Left The Chargers With A Much Bigger Problem
The Chargers came out of Week 3 with something even more frustrating than a loss to Buffalo: another reminder that winning the turnover battle is not enough when the offense cannot cash it in. The defeat fit a troubling early-season pattern, with the Chargers struggles on that side of the ball drawing scrutiny under coach Mike McDaniel as they try to keep pace in a crowded AFC picture.
Los Angeles is hardly alone in dealing with early anxiety, with the Packers wrestling with line problems around Jordan Love and the Buccaneers buried under a three-game skid while Baker Mayfield deals with an injury issue. But for the Chargers, the concern is more immediate because the Buffalo result suggested the bigger problem is not bad luck or one mistake, it is whether the offense can do enough to make the rest of the roster matter. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Brady Took A Brutal Public Shot At Justin Herbert
During the Chargers' matchup with the Bills, Justin Herbert ran into one of those nationally televised moments that gets replayed long after the snap itself. A pass intended for the offense instead ended up in C.J. Gardner-Johnson's hands, and Tom Brady, working the game as a color commentator, did not soften the critique one bit.
Brady went right at Herbert's awareness and decision-making on the play, even using the phrase "Meatball Sub" to describe the throw's placement. It was the kind of blunt, unsparing analysis that has already become part of Brady's early broadcasting identity, and for Chargers fans, it only added to the sting of watching a mistake turn into a turnover on a big stage. [Read more 🡒]