Jim Harbaugh's Justin Herbert hype ages badly at 0-5
TLDR: Justin Herbert fumbled one 4th-quarter drive away and threw an interception on the next as Denver beat the Chargers 23-17, leaving Jim Harbaugh's team at 0-5 and his preseason Herbert prophecy looking rough.
Sunday at SoFi was tied 17-17 deep into the 4th quarter. Then the Chargers did what this team does now and coughed it up.
That was the first of 2 straight possessions that ended in a turnover. On the next one Herbert threw an interception on 4th down, and Denver closed out 23-17. His final line was ugly for a guy this paid and this talented: 14-of-24 for 121 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 pick, sacked 5 times, and his lowest passing total since November 2025. Harbaugh owned it afterward and said he did not put his players, his team or his organization in the best position to win. That's an honest answer, and it also happens to be the whole problem in one sentence.
Which brings us to the receipt. Before the season started, Harbaugh sat down for an interview on Michael Irvin's show and said something about his quarterback that he will be hearing about for a long time.
“When it’s all said and done I predict he will be the best to ever play the position of Quarterback.” Jim Harbaugh on Justin Herbert before the season started. The Chargers are 0-5
Best to ever play the position. The team is 0-5. Irvin hasn't exactly been running cover for Herbert either. After the early losses he went after the QB for reportedly leaving practice to spend time with Madison Beer, so the off-field noise has followed this team all season. The Barstool shows have been chewing on the Chargers for weeks. On Wake Up Barstool on 2026-10-05, after the Week 4 loss, Brandon Walker said what a lot of people were thinking:
“We've all been waiting for Harbaugh to turn that thing around and get something out of Herbert. It just hasn't happened. Harbaugh doesn't look like the same coach.” – Brandon Walker
A week and another loss later, the take has hardened. Chargers diehard Kenjac spent Sunday night stuck between giving the defense credit for keeping it close and pointing out that the bonehead interceptions Herbert used to throw maybe once a year now show up every week. By Monday morning he had landed on a theory about the head coach himself.
Harbaugh was 100% a good choice but I think we can see the game is leaving him. He's a CEO coach and strengths you need from that (decision making, strength of message, general energy) have been in a SHARP decline.
That's the uncomfortable version of this, and it's hard to argue with. Harbaugh came to LA to be the adult in the building: the decision maker, the culture guy, the energy. Right now the decisions are what he's apologizing for. The offense that was supposed to come alive with Mike McDaniel calling plays for Herbert's arm has been a turnover machine since Week 1. Herbert looks like a guy pressing on every snap. Nobody is getting fired over 5 games with Harbaugh's resume, but the clock is moving now. The next few weeks will show whether this is a bad start or the real Chargers, and whether the best-ever-QB line ends up as a punchline or just a strange thing to have said.
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