The early AFC chatter has centered on quarterbacks, but a few of the latest notes point just as much to how the guys around them are shaping the conversation.
In Los Angeles, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about Justin Herbert as the team stumbled out to a 0-2 start. Harbaugh kept his answer simple and firm: “I wouldn’t change a thing about Justin.”
Kansas City has a different kind of rhythm going, with Patrick Mahomes talking up the addition of Kenneth Walker to the backfield. Walker has opened the season leading the league in rushing yards through two weeks, and Mahomes said the balance has made life easier for everyone on offense.
“It’s fun for me,” Mahomes said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN. “Him running the ball and our offensive line driving off the ball the way they’re driving off, it’s making the defense have to account for that.
If not, we’re going to run the ball for 200 yards or whatever we did the week before [against the Denver Broncos]. You want to be able to do it all.
We showcased that we can throw the ball down the field, we can play action and can also still run the ball.”
Walker liked the sound of that, too, and said the workload has been easier to handle because of the way the Chiefs have prepared.
“You can see what the defense is doing and how they’re playing,” Walker said of his performance. “I get stronger.
The way we condition, it’s a lot easier in the game. We worked on [our endurance] in training camp with a lot of long practices.
We knew what we had to do. When you go through those practices, you have no choice [but to succeed].”
He also made it clear that sharing an offense with Mahomes has its perks.
“It’s super fun,” Walker added about playing with Mahomes. “We’re able to, I guess, freestyle it.
If somebody is open or if the play breaks down, he’s able to make a play. It’s great to play with him.”
In Las Vegas, Kirk Cousins is drawing strong praise from his agent, Mike McCartney, who said the quarterback has settled in well under new head coach Klint Kubiak.
“He loves playing for Klint,” McCartney told Jason La Canfora. “I think he really does enjoy (working with) Mendoza, too, and kind of putting his arm around him.
Kirk’s in his element being a leader and he still plays with a lot of passion. It’s the third preseason game and I’m watching the pregame and he’s hyping everyone else up and I’m like, ‘I just can’t wait for this game to be over with.’
Here he is getting everybody going, you know. He has the credibility in that building, in that locker room, in that quarterback room, to really impact the young guys and show them the way, and he’s really good at that.
I do think he’s in his element and I think he’s going to play with a lot of energy this year.”
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 🡒]