Lamar Jackson might win awards, but Justin Herbert is NFL’s best lately

Chris Roling | Nov 14, 2024

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert isn’t getting the national praise he probably should be for his MVP-like play over the last month. 

Hence, someone like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stuffing the stat sheet and winning weekly awards. He’s on an MVP path with 24 touchdowns against just two interceptions, never mind the dynamic ability as a rusher. 

Herbert, though, has been quietly navigating a run-first Chargers offense to stunning success. Over at Pro Football Focus, since Week 7, he’s tops in the NFL in PFF grade (95.0), big-time throws (13) and turnover-worthy plays (0). 

This is merely one grading metric that goes into a much bigger whole, but it meshes well with the reality. Since Week 7, the Chargers are 3-1, which aligns with Herbert’s ankle injury getting back to 100 percent, permitting the expansion of the offense around him. He’s been making wicked plays as a rusher, too. And the lone loss over that span? A 17-15 loss to Arizona in which Herbert’s weapons dropped so many passes they had to hold a player’s-only meeting to talk about it. 

Simply put, now that he’s healthy, it feels like Herbert is doing more with less while navigating a new offense. It won’t win awards, but it certainly deserves more attention. 

And Herbert will get a chance to wake up the NFL world outside of the West Coast on Sunday Night Football in Week 11 with a head-to-head matchup with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The week after? A head-to-head matchup with Jackson in primetime, too.

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