Something has kept Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert from fulfilling a skillset that has had coach Jim Harbaugh proclaim that Herbert will be regarded as the best to ever play the game. The disconnect between talent and production has become more pronounced in the early days of the 2026 season, given that the Chargers have lost a pair of home games to two of the worst teams in the league in 2025.
On Wednesday, Herbert’s midweek press conference included questions about a potential increase in vocal leadership.
In response to the first — regarding the possible need for vocal leadership in advance of the Week 3 game at Buffalo — Herbert bristled.
“I think that would imply that there’s no need for vocal leadership before this week,” Herbert said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “I think every week is a super important week for us and it’s a great opportunity for us to go play football again and correct the things that we made mistakes on last week and keep pushing forward.”
Herbert interrupted the second question on the subject.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of vocal leadership at all,” Herbert said. “So, I’m going to stop you right there and say that it’s very present. I don’t think anyone is panicked or worried because that’s not going to be the sentiment. It’s moving on to the next play and understand that we’re close, we’ve made mistakes, how do we fix it?”
Herbert reiterated his expectation that there will be no panic, as the team stares at the possibility that 0-2 will become 0-3 and, based on the upcoming schedule (at Seahawks, Broncos, at Chiefs), possibly 0-6 at the bye.
Regardless, something is missing. And it it’s not an issue of Herbert’s talent, it’s something else. Perhaps the players around him aren’t good enough. Perhaps he’s not doing enough to get more out of them. Perhaps the odd-couple pairing of Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is a work in progress that has yet to make enough progress.
A win will change everything. But the team looked flat and overmatched in two straight games the Chargers should have won. Now comes the gauntlet, and there’s a chance the hole will get deeper and deeper with each passing week.