The Chargers Need Justin Herbert to Wake Up, Too

Justin Herbert IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chargers Need Justin Herbert to Wake Up, Too

Originally posted on Los Angeles Chargers on SI
By Chris Roling | Last updated Sep 28, 2026 7:00 PM ET

Things are bad for the Los Angeles Chargers. There’s blame to go around, starting with general manager Joe Hortiz’s miserable roster-building approach to Jim Harbaugh’s aw-shucks style that is stale beyond the expiration date.

But the Chargers need Justin Herbert to show signs of life.

The Herbert who has shown up for three games this season is not the Herbert from past years. Whispers on social media about his demeanor and such dating back to training camp seem a little justified now, all things considered.

Because right now, the only thing saving Herbert from immense criticism and questions, really, is his last name.

Chargers need Justin Herbert to be better

Onlookers can make excuses for days. We all agree that Hortiz has put forth multiple middling offseasons in a row. Harbaugh’s approach is failing. The Mike McDaniel hire probably has Herbert uncomfortable, and yes, the cast of weapons around him is poor.

But the actual tape says Herbert is just off. He’s not seeing open guys, he’s holding the ball too long and he’s taking weird forced shots down the field, to name a few issues.

Herbert is, as ESPN’s Kris Rhim pointed out, 1-of-12 with three interceptions on throws 20-plus yards down the field this year.

Herbert is getting rocked by Tom Brady for his horrific reads:

Tom Brady: "Herbert trying to throw down the middle of the field... But there's a safety in the middle of the field... Poor awareness. Poor decision. Throws him a meatball sub." ️ #NFL pic.twitter.com/5XzEAxnr8V
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2026

Herbert is also just making horrific plays that quickly don’t show up on the box score, too:

Once a week, Justin Herbert will display great skill as a thrower and a notable error as a field general.

Doesn’t account for peripheral DB and should have been a drive-killer. pic.twitter.com/xYxm3NhTs5
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 27, 2026

Look, bad games happen. But last year, we could write off his 13 interceptions in 16 games as pushing it through a bad offense and injury. But the biggest storyline about his play was his newfound ability to run the football. Not exactly the career progression onlookers wanted to see.

There are two sides to this coin. The roster is bad and Herbert willed arguably worse to the playoffs. Recency bias is a thing.

But, NFL fans have seen lesser quarterbacks do more with less. Sam Darnold just won a Super Bowl. Maybe it’s not “fair,” but Herbert gets paid $262.5 million to find a way.

Nobody wants to feel this way about Herbert, a generally good dude in an NFL filled with characters. But the warning signs appeared to be there over the summer and, frankly, he’s not giving his defenders much to work with right now, just the opposing team’s defenders.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Chargers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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