With 2:44 left in Sunday\u2019s game between a pair of AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers trailed the Denver Broncos at home by a score of 20-13.<\/p>\n
What happened next is one of the more improbable touchdowns you might ever see, and a play that will enter the annals of Justin Herbert lore.<\/p>\n
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Facing 2nd and 6 at the Broncos\u2019 20-yard line, the Chargers dropped Herbert to throw. But just as Herbert finished his drop, pressure off the right edge in the form of pass rusher Jonathon Cooper forced the quarterback into survival mode.<\/p>\n
Herbert stepped up to avoid Cooper, but he was not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. Zach Allen \u2014 all 6\u20194 285 pounds of him \u2014 was bearing down on the Chargers quarterback from the left side. Herbert managed to shrug off a sack from Allen, then rolled to his left. With linebacker Nik Bonitto bearing down on him, Herbert contorted his body and unleashed a throw to Keenan Allen in the end zone.<\/p>\n
Touchdown, tie game, and one of the more improbable completions of Herbert\u2019s career:<\/p>\n
Just how improbable was this connection to tie the game? According to Next Gen Stats, it was Herbert\u2019s most improbable completion since Week 8 of last season, with a completion probability of just 16.7%:<\/p>\n
The job was not done, however, as the game was only tied with under three minutes remaining. The Chargers defense forced a quick three-and-out from the Broncos \u2014 with only 54 seconds coming off the clock \u2014 and Herbert came back onto the field with 1:43 left in the game, starting at the Chargers\u2019 own 32-yard line.<\/p>\n
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It did not take long for him to deliver another strike:<\/p>\n
Herbert finds rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden on a slant route, between a pair of defenders, to open the drive. Two more short completions, one to Gadsden and another to Allen, moved the Chargers into Broncos\u2019 territory.<\/p>\n
That second completion to Gadsden on the drive came late in the play, one a secondary read from Herbert, and with a defender draped around his legs:<\/p>\n
Herbert\u2019s final completion of the game, to Ladd McConkey on another slant route, put the Chargers in range for Cameron Dicker\u2019s attempt at a game-winning field goal:<\/p>\n
After Herbert plunged forward for two yards on the next play, Dicker came on and split the uprights to give the Chargers a 23-20 win, moving Los Angeles to 3-0 for the first time since I was in law school and Drew Brees was their starting quarterback.<\/p>\n
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Yes, the Chargers are 3-0 for the first time since 2002.<\/p>\n