My morning starts by listening to some of the faceless voices on sports talk radio. It’s standard part of my morning ritual as I feed the dogs and sip my Celsius (Cosmic Vibe is the preferred flavor). It’s part of my process that gets my day moving and kick starts my brain.
A topic of conversation on yesterday morning’s program was the Los Angeles Chargers and what we’re seeing out of their starting quarterback, Justin Herbert. The general sentiment seemed to be that if the Chargers don’t make the playoffs, or if they make the playoffs but get bounced in the first round by an upstart like New England or Indianapolis, both of which are in some stage of a rebuild process, it might mean that Herbert is not the quarterback we thought he was.
I, for one, am not ready to call it a day on the University of Oregon product. Let’s look at some numbers…
Through the first eleven weeks of the NFL season, Herbert ranks:
- 2nd in total completions (250/376, 66%)
- 2nd in total passing yards (2,691)
- 6th in passing touchdowns (19)
- 3rd in rushing yards among QBs (345 on 54 attempts with a rushing touchdown)
That all looks pretty good…but there’s another side to the story. Herbert ranks:
- 31st in interceptions (9)
- 17th in Passer Rating (94.2)
- 12th in Time-to-Throw (2.86)
- Sacked the 3rd most times (35) and the most QB pressures (189) of any quarterback this season
When I look at these numbers, I don’t see an inept quarterback; I see an offensive line that’s been decimated by injury in 2025. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, first-round draft pick offensive tackles are both out. Trey Pipkins III, Jamaree Salyer, and Mekhi Becton have all missed time for injury. Their backups are getting injured, their backups’ backups are getting injured. And to quote the great Vince Lombardi, “Football is fundamentally a game of blocking and tackling, the team that does that best, usually wins!” And when the players who are supposed to block for you aren’t there, the players who are supposed to tackle you have a field day.
And this is not to say that there aren’t better quarterbacks in the league. I think there are. But maybe we don’t write the kid off just yet…
The Joe Quarterback Podcast 
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