Jim Harbaugh has seen a lot of quarterbacks, but he says Justin Herbert tops them all when it comes to toughness.
In a PFF interview that circulated Friday, the Chargers coach didn’t hold back while talking about his quarterback. Harbaugh said Herbert is tougher than any passer he ever played with or coached, and he backed it up with a line that will stick: “I really thought I was the toughest QB I’d ever been around until Justin.
I mean, a guy that can play with a broken hand. The next week, he’s stiff-arming a guy in a game.
The strength of 10 men. It’s incredible.
Let’s just say I’m glad he’s on our team,” Harbaugh said, as reported by ClutchPoints.
PFF shared the clip on X and highlighted Harbaugh’s “strength of ten men” remark.
The praise points straight back to a game Chargers fans remember well. Last December, Herbert fractured a bone in his non-throwing left hand against the Raiders in Week 13, had surgery the next day, and was back in the lineup six days later for Monday night against Philadelphia.
He wore a bulky protective glove - ESPN described it as looking like an oven mitt - took a career-high seven sacks, ran for 66 yards, and still finished the game. One of those runs included the stiff-arm Harbaugh keeps coming back to.
The Chargers won in overtime.
That performance is part of the reason Harbaugh keeps leaning into Herbert’s toughness as the team heads into a new season. Herbert, drafted in 2020, is entering his seventh NFL season. Harbaugh is also entering his seventh season as an NFL head coach, with four years in San Francisco and now his third with the Chargers after arriving in 2024.
The numbers from last season show why Los Angeles needs Herbert to keep absorbing punishment and still producing. He completed 340 of 512 passes for 3,727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, according to NFL.com.
He also rushed 83 times for 498 yards and two touchdowns, both career highs on the ground. He was sacked 54 times.
Even so, the Chargers went 11-6 for the second straight year under Harbaugh and made the playoffs again. The finish, though, was the same problem: a wild-card loss, 32-12 at Houston after the 2024 season and 16-3 at New England after 2025, according to the franchise’s season records on Wikipedia.
That is the backdrop for a team that still hasn’t won the AFC West since 2009. The drought is now 16 seasons long heading into 2026, and Harbaugh, along with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, is trying to change more than just the record in the standings.
McDaniel’s offense is designed to get the ball out quickly and create yards after the catch, and Harbaugh has said Herbert’s accuracy is what should make it work. Over the spring, Herbert focused on footwork instead of just launching the ball in every period, a gradual buildup the staff described on Chargers.com. The hope is straightforward: fewer sacks, more explosive plays, and a healthier Herbert when January arrives.
The Chargers open the season at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, per The Athletic and the team’s posted schedule.
If the offense looks different at SoFi Stadium, that will be the first real sign this group is headed somewhere new. Harbaugh’s message, though, is already clear: the quarterback has the toughness.
Now the rest of the offense has to match it.
In Other News...
Chargers Suddenly Have A Backfield Concern They Cant Shrug Off
The Chargers have been juggling enough health issues that even a smaller one in the backfield deserves attention. After season-ending injuries to Tyler Biadasz and a setback for Rashawn Slater, Los Angeles has also had to monitor running back Keaton Mitchell, who has now missed six straight practices because of an injury. The team has stopped short of placing him on injured reserve, which at least leaves the door open for him to return without the kind of long-term absence that would change the shape of the roster.
General manager Joe Hortiz said Mitchell is working through an issue but nothing major, and that kind of wording usually signals a team that wants to be careful rather than alarmed. Even so, the Chargers may have to handle his status with extra caution because of his injury history, and with the rest of the roster already absorbing significant blows, any uncertainty in the backfield becomes part of a bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Linked To Bold QB Move Behind Justin Herbert
The Chargers have been connected to a speculative quarterback move that would add another intriguing layer behind Justin Herbert. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report floated the idea of Los Angeles sending a 2028 fifth-round pick to the Vikings for J.J. McCarthy, the former Michigan quarterback who would once again be working with Jim Harbaugh if a deal ever came together.
It is the kind of idea that makes sense on a few different levels for a team already built around Herbert, since it would give the Chargers a developmental backup with familiarity built in. For now, though, it remains just a projection, and the more interesting question is whether Minnesota would be willing to part with a young passer before Los Angeles even gets a real chance to test the market. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Harbaugh Practice Clip Went Viral For The Wrong Reason
A routine Chargers practice clip turned into a talking point for all the wrong reasons this week, after Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel were captured in the middle of a quarterback handoff drill discussion. The exchange itself was about the basics - footwork, timing and how to clean up the handoff mechanics - as the staff continues working with Justin Herbert on the little details that matter when the season gets going.
Social media, though, had other ideas. Instead of focusing on the coaching detail in the video, attention quickly landed on Harbaughs wide-legged stance, which became the unexpected headline from a session that was supposed to be about refinement and repetition. For the Chargers, the real point remains the same: getting Herberts handoffs aligned and the offense sharper before the games begin. [Read more 🡒]