Justin Herbert’s rough season got another brutal postgame diagnosis after the Chargers fell to the Rams on Sunday, and Rams safety Quentin Lake did not soften the blow.
Lake, who picked off Herbert in Los Angeles’ 24-9 win, later joined Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown on the St. Brown Podcast and described what he saw from the Chargers quarterback in blunt terms.
“I mean, he was throwing deli meat out there,” Lake said.
When one of the St. Brown brothers reacted, Lake doubled down.
“He’s seeing ghosts,” Lake said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but like we knew we were going to get a couple. Like, that was, we knew we were going to at least one.”
The Rams ended up with two interceptions off Herbert. Lake’s pick went back 45 yards, and Trent McDuffie added the other.
Herbert finished 24-of-32 for 257 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, bringing his season total to 10 picks.
For the Chargers, the bigger picture is even uglier. The loss dropped them to 0-7, and they’ve managed just 99 points this season, the fewest in the NFL.
Herbert has taken heat throughout the skid. Last month, Jim Harbaugh pointed to “desperation time” as part of the problem. This week, Emmanuel Acho went even further and suggested Herbert needs LASIK, saying.
“Either Herbert is invested in the opponent, either Herbert is gambling on the opponent, or Herbert simply cannot see,” Acho argued.
That’s a long way from the preseason confidence Harbaugh showed in his quarterback, when he predicted Herbert “will be known as the greatest, best ever to play the position of quarterback.”
The Chargers get another shot at their first win on Sunday when they host the Texans.
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A week after a loss, Justin Herbert found himself answering for more than the Chargers record. Rams safety Quentin Lake took aim at the quarterbacks recent play, and the comments quickly turned into another layer of scrutiny around a season that has already left Los Angeles searching for answers. Jim Harbaugh stepped in to defend Herbert, while Herbert said he had not even been aware of what was said, a reminder that the noise around the team is growing louder than the results on the field.
For Herbert, the larger issue is not a rivals criticism so much as the way the Chargers have looked while staying winless. The conversation has shifted from isolated mistakes to a broader concern about whether the offense is getting enough from its franchise quarterback, and whether the team can stabilize before the outside chatter starts to feel like the easy part of the problem. [Read more 🡒]
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Justin Herberts Mindset Is Suddenly Part Of The Chargers Debate
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Former teammate Chase Daniel added another layer to the discussion by framing Herbert as the kind of player who stays locked in on football and handles adversity the hard way. For a team that needs its franchise quarterback to steady the operation, that reputation matters, and it comes at a time when the Chargers are preparing for Houston with plenty still unresolved about how this offense is going to turn the corner. [Read more 🡒]