Mike McDaniel Might Finally Unlock Justin Herbert's Deep Ball

The Chargers lined up in 12 personnel – one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers – against the Rams’ Cover-6 defense with Cover-4 to the boundary, and Cover-2 to the field. McDaniel aligned his two tight ends – David Njoku and Charlie Kolar, both free-agent additions – to the wing on either side of the formation. This was second-and-10, and with the Chargers’ offensive linemen firing out in more of a run-action look than pure pass protection, and with Herbert’s playfake to running back Omarion Hampton, you could forgive the Rams for thinking that this was going to be a run play. Especially with Kolar pulling from right to left with what could have been a block to the edge. 

That run look had linebackers Elias Neal and Nikhai Hill-Green hesitating for a split second off the snap, and following Hampton out of the backfield before ultimately dropping into coverage. Njoku’s return motion had the attention of cornerback Cam Lampkin, who had his eyes in the backfield pre-snap. If a cornerback begins his read with eyes on the backfield, he’s probably playing a bail technique, where he opens his hips and covers deep downfield after looking like he’s going to be closer to the line of scrimmage. 

That’s what happened, but other things were going on to set the Rams’ defense up for trouble. At the snap, safety Nick Andersen appeared to have Kolar as his primary focus, and if that was the assignment, the Rams may have been trying to invert their coverage with Andersen taking care of the middle of the field, while Lampkin was in charge of the deep third.

The problem there was that receiver Quentin Johnston ran a go route from the left side of the condensed formation, and there was nobody to cap Johnston’s route over the top. Tanner Ingle, the other safety in the two-high look, had to keep his eye on receiver Ladd McConkey running the dig route on the other side of the formation, so he was not in position to help. 

And with that, Herbert was able to hit Johnston on a play in which the ball traveled a very long distance through the air before it was caught. 

“Wow. Double wow,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said of the play. “The throw, the catch, the protection.” 

Johnston was equally excited.

“It felt good,” he said. “On that drive, [we] were looking for an explosive play, and it happened. I’m glad I’ve got a quarterback that can get the ball out there like that. I still go back [with] film and get amazed at some of the passes, and how far he throws the ball. Fun to be a part of.”

Herbert has talked this offseason about how McDaniel’s offense sets receivers up to create after the catch, and that’s true. But when you watch a play like this, it becomes clear that with Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel working together, the Chargers could have a deep passing game that brings the legendary Air Coryell to mind.