Justin Herbert's concerning regression continues with another ugly fourth quarter

We are now five weeks into the season and Herbert has accounted for nearly twice as many turnovers (nine) as he has touchdowns (five). He has also played his worst football in crunch time in the fourth quarter.

He entered Sunday's game completing 59% of his passes in the fourth quarter, while throwing zero touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 47.2

On Sunday, he was 3-for-7 in the fourth quarter for only 25 yards with three sacks, two fumbles and the interception. 

There have been a lot of criticisms of Herbert over the years, ranging from his lack of big-game performances, to the fact he has yet to win a playoff game, to the fact he always seems to struggle when the game is put on his shoulders.

He is not beating any of those allegations this season.

His game has always been defined by incredible athleticism and the occasional highlight reel play, but the down-to-down consistency has simply never really been there. His overall production has rarely matched the hype. Entering this season, he has only had two seasons with a total QBR in the top 10 of the league. He entered Sunday with the lowest QBR for the season, and it is only going to drop after the way he played against the Broncos. 

The Chargers, as an organization, are certainly not without blame when it comes to surrounding him with talent. They have also had some terrible injury luck,and played Sunday without both of their starting offensive tackles. The state of the offensive line did not make things any easier. But after this many years, you have to start seeing some more tangible results if you are going to keep building your team around a guy you think is a franchise quarterback. Sometimes, a franchise quarterback has to elevate the situation around him. 

New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was supposed to be the offensive mind that could help him unlock that ability. The opposite is happening as Herbert and the Chargers offense are actually getting worse. It is only going to lead to big questions as to whether or not they actually have their guy at the most important position on the field.