The Chargers Are Wasting Justin Herbert's Prime

Sad to watch, and sadder to think about.

Your Los Angeles Chargers' selection of Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft represented the franchise's commitment to a new, young quarterback after 16 seasons of Phillip Rivers. 

After an injury to Tyrod Taylor ahead of Week 2, the Oregon product was named the starter for a divisional contest against the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

He was excellent, finishing with 311 passing yards, two total touchdowns, and one interception, as the Bolts lost 23-20 in overtime. 

This season was marred by repeated impeccable performances by Herbert that went to waste. 

For example, in a Week 5 30-27 overtime loss against the New Orleans Saints, who were arguably the best team in the league at the time, Herbert threw for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns, only for kicker Michael Badgley to miss an extra point and game-winning field goal. 

The Chargers defense also imploded, giving up a 10-point halftime lead. This soon became a recurring theme in Los Angeles. 

Things only got worse entering the 2021 season, as after the dismissal of coach Anthony Lynn, the Chargers brought in the now-infamous Brandon Staley, the former defensive coordinator for the Rams. 

There, Staley piloted the top defense in the NFL in 2020, but it's worth noting that the personnel featured Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, two of the top three or five defensive players in the league. 

In 2021, the Bolts got off to a great start, sitting at 4-1 with a win against the Chiefs in Arrowhead. 

The team completely imploded down the stretch, finishing 5-7 with bad losses to the Broncos and Texans. This ultimately culminated in a 35-32 Week 18 win-and-in loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, a game that started to introduce the question marks around Staley. 

The 2022 season was no better than 2021 aside from the Bolts making a wild card playoff appearance. That accomplishment, however, was tainted by a blown 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Now, Herbert sits as a controversial player in the league. Some stand behind him being a top 3-to-5 quarterback in the league, while others suggest that his lack of winning greatly discounts him as a QB. 

Meanwhile, the advanced stats favor him. Despite an injury-plagued down-year in 2022, Pro Football Focus ranked him the 4th best quarterback entering the 2023 NFL season, and executives collectively ranked him inside the top-5 as well. 

So why do the other QBs ranked around Herbert (Burrow, Mahomes, Hurts, Allen, Jackson) have more success in both the regular season and the playoffs? There are two reasons, and both fall on the Chargers organizationally. 

Coaching

The common denominator across Herbert's career has been the atrocity that claims to be the Chargers defense, as in 2021, they gave up the third-most points in the league, trailing only the rebuilding Jets and Lions. 

In 2022, the group ceded the most yards per carry to opposing running backs, combined with being fourth in yards per play (passing + rushing), and being bottom-10 in points allowed. 

2023 has been even more of a catastrophe:

The Chargers defense is on track to average 394 yards per game. That is tracking to be the worst in franchise history beating the 392 yards per game in 1985. @danielrpopper pic.twitter.com/4IA4SsN7Jb

— ALL-PRO Dean Thanos (@HailDeanThanos) November 20, 2023

Five of the Bolts' six losses this season have been by three or fewer points, and in two of them, the offense scored 34 or more points. 

Staley has no plans to let up, either. He's managed to retain his job in spite of these horrendous performances, week-over-week and year-over-year. Strangely, he actually even believes that his defensive scheme works and doesn't think adjustments are necessary. 

I’ve never seen a more stubborn coach in sports than Brandon Staley. Refuses to believe his defensive scheme is cooked. pic.twitter.com/Tfl68TmeJU

— ًBoltUpYo (@BoltUpYo) November 19, 2023

At this point, Staley is beyond indefensible, and definitely has a case to be the worst coach in the NFL. Most wouldn't have survived their implosion in the 2023 postseason against Jacksonville, let alone this many poor defensive performances this season as well. 

Organizational Mismanagement: 

It's no secret that general manager Tom Telesco has been highly questionable throughout his tenure calling the shots, missing on a slew of draft picks (Zion Johnson, Quentin Johnston, Kenneth Murray Jr.), along with handing out lengthy and/or hefty contracts to players like J.C. Jackson, Chris Harris Jr., Linval Joseph, Bryan Bulaga, Corey Linsley, and more. 

Inaction is as bad as making the wrong moves, and Telesco chose to make calls like not adding to the running back room this past offseason and letting linebacker Drue Tranquill walk. 

As a whole, since the dawn of his tenure in 2013, the Bolts have won two playoff games: one against Andy Dalton, who is winless in his playoff career, and Lamar Jackson, who was a rookie at the time.

Of course, the onus to dismiss Brandon Staley, which is long overdue, also falls on Telesco. His decision to keep him around/fail to push for his dismissal with ownership has prolonged this nightmare for the Chargers, who are now 4-6 with incredibly touch matchups against the Ravens, Bills, and Chiefs still lying ahead. 

Herbert is a top-tier quarterback being failed by his franchise, This is reaching the level of Andrew Luck in Indianapolis back in the early-to-mid 2010s, where the team did nothing correctly offseason after offseason, curtailing their generational quarterback's career while continuing to fail as a franchise. 

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