Justin Herbert bench calls grow as Chargers fall to 0-6
TLDR: Justin Herbert threw a costly interception in a 22-6 loss at Kansas City that dropped the Chargers to 0-6, and Barstool spent the next 2 days arguing about whether to bench him.
Sunday at Arrowhead went sideways early. With the Chargers down 9-3 in the 2nd quarter, Herbert threw one that should have been a pick. A flag bailed him out.
This roughing the passer call wiped away Justin Herbert’s government-mandated weekly interception
The "government-mandated weekly interception" line is a joke about Herbert turning it over every week. It also turned out to be accurate, because he threw the real one later in that quarter. Chiefs linebacker Jack Cochrane caught a pass Herbert threw right to him and almost took it back for a touchdown. Then Mahomes threw one away in the end zone on the next drive, so neither QB came out of that stretch looking good.
“Your boy Justin Herbert picked by Jack Cochrane, who returns it 48 yards to the Chargers 17.”
The second half was even worse. Kansas City kept giving the ball back and the Chargers offense kept giving it right back to them. Early in the 4th quarter, down 19-6, the Chargers ran a 3rd-and-1 into a pile and the Chiefs came out of it with the ball. Barstool's read on the tape was that a Chargers player knocked it loose from his own teammate.
However bad you thought the Chargers were… they’re worse Quentin Johnston just forced a fumble on his own player
It finished 22-6. Herbert went 22-of-37 for 204 yards and 1 pick, and he was also the team's leading rusher with 26 yards. The Chargers are 0-6 for the first time since 2000, when they finished 1-15. Afterward Harbaugh said "it starts with me" and said the team needs to "address everything," especially on offense.
That's left first-year coordinator Mike McDaniel on the hot seat. Reports have pass-game specialist Adam Gase taking over the play-calling if McDaniel is fired. Gase hadn't coached in the NFL for 5 years before the Chargers hired him, and fans have not liked hearing his name. Nobody in the building has said a word about benching Herbert. On the internet, people have said little else.
By Monday afternoon it had become a podcast topic. Pardon My Take put a label on Herbert and added a small hedge about what it meant.
Not everybody at Barstool went along with it. On Tuesday, Kenjac had spent Sunday hoping for a blowout bad enough to force ownership into changes, but he defended Herbert's peak against a Speakeasy podcast take that said Herbert never got better than his rookie year.
In his second year, Herbert had the 8th most total yards in a single season in NFL history lol
He followed up by naming Emmanuel Acho as the target. He gave a little ground: Herbert has never matched that year, and it was the only one where he had both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams healthy. But he still called the rookie-year argument "demonstrably untrue."
I guess semantical cause he hasn't hit the heights of that season (the only one where he had Allen and Williams healthy) but Acho REALLY hammers on how herbert was never as good as his rookie year which is demonstrably untrue
That's the real question for the Chargers. Is Herbert a franchise QB stuck in a broken offense, or is the 2021 version gone? A coordinator change is the move they can make right now. If they swap play-callers and the turnovers keep coming, the bench talk won't stay on podcasts much longer.
More Stories
Mike McDaniel Chargers play-calling under review at 0-6
Dave Portnoy Super Bowl contender rankings: 49ers No. 1
Dan Quinn fourth down confusion in Commanders loss to 49ers
Jersey Jerry Hank beef on Barstool Sports Advisors
Stu Feiner wins Packers vs. Cowboys best bet
Stool Mintzy Ole Miss national championship bet +2000