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Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert Closing In On Peyton Manning's NFL Record

The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Denver Broncos in a Thursday Night Football contest 34-27. After a stellar performance, former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert is closing in on another NFL record held by Peyton Manning.

Kyron Samuels

Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates as he leaves the field after defeating the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates as he leaves the field after defeating the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Chargers are riding on cloud nine after a comeback victory over their AFC West division rival the Denver Broncos. After going down 21-10 in the first half, the Chargers rallied to win a 34-27 game on Thursday Night Football. The win all but assures the Chargers will make the playoffs. Per the ESPN projections, the Chargers have a 98-percent chance.

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert had one of the better performances of the season in the national spotlight and is now on the verge of making more history. Herbert is just 154 passing yards per game through the next two games, or 308 passing yards away, from breaking Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning's record for most passing yards in a quarterback's first five seasons in the NFL. 

 "He is a special special guy. I am glad everyone is getting a chance to finally watch it.” said All-Pro Khalil Mack about Herbert’s performance and overall perception. 

In the second half of the Broncos game, Herbert arguably had the best half of his career considering the stakes. The former Oregon Duck signal-caller went 11/16 for 144 yards, and two passing touchdowns while boasting a 136.5 passer rating against the Broncos’ fifth-ranked scoring defense. 

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Arguably more impressive than the second half is how well Herbert handled pressure from Broncos’ defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Per Pro Football Focus, on 13 dropbacks when pressured, Herbert was 9/10, for 116 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, a 148.3 passer rating, 0.51 EPA, and one scramble for 16 rushing yards.

The Chargers offense hasn’t been as explosive as they’ve been in the past, but one area they still excel is in the play-action passing game. Per NFL NextGenStats, Justin Herbert used play action on a career-high 47.2% of his dropbacks against Denver, finishing 12/15 for 155 passing yards. This season, Herbert ranks second in the NFL in passing yards on play action 1,339, fewer than only Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff's 1,539.

The Chargers' last two opponents of the regular season are the Las Vegas Raiders and the New England Patriots, and those two teams have a combined record of 5-23. Not only will Herbert have an excellent chance of breaking the passing yards record, the Chargers will have an excellent opportunity to win both games and finish with an 11-6 record. In Jim Harbaugh's first season as coach in Los Angeles, the Charger faithful could not have asked for much more on the field.

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Kyron Samuels
KYRON SAMUELS

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