Chargers' Justin Herbert catches some national shade in NFL season preview

The Los Angeles Chargers undoubtedly have their franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert. It didn't take long for them to realize that, either, as Herbert threw for 4,336 yards with 31 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in 2020 en route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Since then, Herbert has cemented himself as a top-ten quarterback in the league. There's been one major knock on his career thus far, which has been the playoff experience. Herbert's been to the playoffs twice with the Chargers: the first being a historic comeback loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then there was last season's blowout loss to the Houston Texans.

It doesn't help being in a division with the Kansas City Chiefs, who go to the Super Bowl almost every year. This is why 2025 is a crucial year for Herbert and the Chargers, who need results immediately. They'll need to make a statement out of the gate, as they're set to take on the Chiefs this Friday in Brazil.

In Sports Illustrated's rankings of the 60 most influential players heading into the season, Herbert came in at No.23. However, he wasn't praised for being named to the list.

"What is Herbert’s signature moment? While ultra-talented, the answer to that question is either losing a win-and-in Week 18 game to Derek Carr, blowing a 27–0 lead to the Jaguars in a wild-card game, or throwing four interceptions in a playoff loss to the Texans. Once again, the Chargers are being picked by many to be a playoff team. If Los Angeles is to become that and then make some noise, Herbert will need to eclipse his modest totals of 3,870 passing yards and 23 touchdowns from a year ago."

The last sentence is kind of wild, as they're acting if Herbert hasn't eclipsed those numbers in the past. It was his first year in Greg Roman's system, which happens to be a run-first type of offense. Now with a new set of weapons around him, Herbert will almost certainly get his numbers back up.

The Chargers and Herbert need to put an end to this noise as soon as possible.