0:42 Tyron Johnson collects a precision 53 yard pass from Justin Herbert against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Immediate impact
It’s been a baptism of fire for the 22-year-old, who stepped in under center at last minute in Week Two when Taylor suffered what was later revealed as a punctured lung caused by the team doctor’s attempt to administer a pain-killing injection to his cracked ribs.
Both his poise and preparation became evident. In his first game Herbert made the Chiefs defense look very average in stages and forced Patrick Mahomes to beat him in overtime, before throwing for over 300 yards for the second straight week as the Chargers were beaten by the Carolina Panthers.
0:40 Jalen Guyton catches a 72 yard pass from Justin Herbert against the Bucs
He then went toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady, who became the oldest player in NFL history to throw five touchdown passes in a game. Herbert had flaunted his arm strength that day with a perfectly-weighted 72-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Guyton.
Three starts have amounted to three defeats, not that the Chargers will be too worried. They have found their man. It’s arguably been Gus Bradley’s defensive unit that has disappointed thus far.
Herbert has 931 passing yards so far this season, putting him second for a rookie in his first three games since the merger behind only Cam Newton’s 1,012 in 2011.
“I think Justin Herbert looks fantastic. He’s played the best quarterbacks in the league, he’s played Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and then this week he gets Drew Brees,” said former NFL coach Rob Ryan on Inside the Huddle.
“There’s usually not a Hall of Famer across the field that you’ve got to try and duplicate but he’s done a fantastic job.
“How many rookies show the poise this kid does? He gets back there, he’s big, he stands tall, he runs the football, he’s athletic, he’s got the huge arm. This kid looks fantastic.”
Herbert has been hurried a joint-third most 21 times and pressured a ninth-most 37 times so far this year, and yet his poise has been largely unflinching.
The playmaking ability has also been undeniable, the first-round pick leading an 80-yard, 10 play drive late in the game against the Panthers that probably should have ended in a game-winning touchdown, with Austin Ekeler unable to keep control of the lateral from Keenan Allen.
On the first series of his NFL career against the Chiefs Herbert orchestrated an eight-play, 79-yard drive ending in a four-yard touchdown run. Mature decision-making was on display later in the half when Herbert acknowledged cornerback Rashad Fenton biting on the presence of Allen and tossing a 14-yard touchdown pass to the back shoulder of a wide-open Guyton.
“Impressed, but not surprised,” coach Cristobal said of Herbert’s debut. “We all know, you’ve seen enough film of him, him live, you’ve seen him do stuff in practice that he’s going to carry that stuff over and have an unbelievable career.
“So excited for him, so happy for him. You can tell that the team really respects him, appreciates him and want to play hard for him. That was awesome, that really was.”
Making the team his
Optimism surrounding Herbert’s bright start is boosted by the idea the Chargers and coach Lynn are yet to fully unleash him.
Despite Herbert’s arm talent, the Chargers entered Week Five having thrown the ball 34.8 per cent of the time on first down while running it 53.5 per cent of the time.
Alongside the ‘wow’ throws, Herbert has had success in getting the ball out quickly to Austin Ekeler or Joshua Kelley on checkdowns and allowing them to go to work.
Lynn adopting a run-first approach is likely to be a reflection of Ekeler’s prominent role and his efforts to take added caution with his quarterback, as opposed to lacking trust in his man under center.
Herbert is currently 21 of 26 for 305 yards on third down, but as the weeks go by the Chargers will need to test what he is capable of doing with the ball in hand on first down.
He is, meanwhile, 29th with 772 intended air yards, which will no doubt rise as Herbert grows in confidence and the Chargers give him greater license to make use of his deep ball.
8:37 NBC’s Peter King reflects on the main talking points from week four in the NFL
It will be interesting to see now how the loss of Ekeler to injury for the next month or so impacts Herbert’s role and the Chargers’ approach with him on first down.
A dent to the running game may also encourage Lynn to exploit the threat of Herbert on the ground, which Oregon utilised sporadically. He has 47 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries and has scrambled just seven times so far this season.
He has become a leader in his own right through his production and given the Chargers good reason to believe they are set at quarterback for the next decade.
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