Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh went over the top to praise star quarterback Justin Herbert following Saturday’s 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans.
“Every week he does things that are reserved for only the best in the game,” Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference. “… I kind of ran out of the superlatives, really. It’s just who he is. Don’t change. I think he’s the best there ever was.”
Herbert went 21-of-32 for 236 yards, one touchdown and an interception through the air, and he was the Chargers’ leading rusher with 37 yards on six carries.
Houston feasted on a threadbare Los Angeles offensive line. With Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt already lost to season-ending injuries and Jamaree Salyer sidelined because of a hamstring issue, L.A. started Bobby Hart at left tackle and the results were disastrous.
The Texans sacked Herbert five times in what was a general microcosm of his career. The two-time Pro Bowler wasn’t faultless on the evening but received little support from the rest of the offense.
There won’t be many who agree with Harbaugh’s assessment of Herbert. It’s difficult to say a quarterback is the best ever when he’s 0-2 in the playoffs through his first five seasons.
But Herbert’s career might look a lot different if, for example, he had all of the resources afforded to Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts.
“This is the truth, Justin Herbert’s biggest weakness is all of those that he’s counting on on offense — coaches, offensive line, playmakers, receivers, running backs — to get up to his level,” Harbaugh told NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl and Manti Te’o in July. “I wake up every day to try to get to his level.”
The Chargers have already punched their ticket to the playoffs, so Saturday’s defeat wasn’t costly from that standpoint. Maybe this is the year when Los Angeles puts together a deep run that converts Herbert’s biggest skeptics.