“Be better.”
That’s Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh’s message to quarterback Justin Herbert.
”Be better. Be better,” Harbaugh said when asked about Herbert’s “discernment” at his Monday press conference. “And that drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach [Shane Day], that drives Mike [McDaniel], the coordinator. I mean, it drives us all.”
Herbert and the Chargers have dug themselves a hole. After losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, 26-14 apiece, the Chargers blew a 10-point first half lead on the road to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 and lost 24-16, falling to 0-3. Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen threw two interceptions and finished with a mere 54.0 passer rating, which is the lowest mark of his career since posting a 53.3 passer rating in a Dec. 31, 2023 win over the New England Patriots.
What’s more, FOX Sports’ Tom Brady had a diabolical quote on Herbert’s fourth-quarter interception.
“There’s a safety in the middle of the field. Poor awareness, poor decision, throws him a meatball sub,” Brady said in reaction to Herbert’s pick.
As for Herbert, the two-time Pro Bowler has totaled 627 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, four interceptions and a 73.4 passer rating through three games, while completing 59.1% of his passes.
For context, Herbert averaged 3,798.5 passing yards, 24.5 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 97.9 passer rating per season over Harbaugh’s first two years in command (2024-25), while completing 66.1% of his passes. The Chargers posted back-to-back 11-win seasons but were later eliminated in the AFC wild-card round in both years.
In all, the Chargers are 29th in the NFL in points (14.7 per game), 20th in passing yards (195.7 per game) and total yards (308.7 per game) and 12th in rushing yards (113.0 per game).
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If the Chargers ultimately right the ship, it will speak volumes, as their next six games come against the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens.
“I use it as a source of making something right, making it right, making it good to really put it on myself. Where can I improve? What can I do? … My strategy has always been I got to get this better and improve this area or that area and the responsibility is for all three phases [offense, defense and special teams], the entire team,” Harbaugh expressed.
