Jim Harbaugh isn’t letting anybody pile on Justin Herbert. With the Chargers offense sputtering three weeks into the 2026 season, the head coach went out of his way to praise his quarterback’s arm.
As first reported by ClutchPoints, Harbaugh pointed to the throws Herbert is making that most people simply can’t.
“Let’s not forget there were six throws in that game that I could have never made in my life in practice,” Harbaugh said, via ESPN’s Kris Rhim. He added that Herbert pulled them off in an actual NFL game.
He went further, saying he could have tried a hundred times and still not hit one. That’s a coach going all in on his guy.
Still, the numbers explain why the heat is on. Los Angeles sits 29th in the league in scoring at 14.7 points per game. The Chargers are 20th in passing at 195.7 yards per game and 20th in total offense at 308.7 yards per game.
Herbert himself is 52-of-88 for 627 yards, with three touchdowns and four interceptions so far.
The loss that stung most came against the Buffalo Bills. The Chargers defense forced five turnovers in that game, and the offense still couldn’t turn it into a win.
The IAHHM Take
This is Harbaugh being Harbaugh. Since he took over in 2024, he has never thrown Herbert under the bus in public, and he isn’t starting now. A coach backing his franchise QB when things go sideways is how you keep a locker room together.
But praise for arm talent only goes so far. Fans don’t want highlight throws; they want points. When your defense hands you five extra possessions and you still lose, that’s a problem the whole offense has to own, not just the guy under center.
The next chance to flip the script comes in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks. A strong showing there would quiet a lot of noise fast.
So where do you land: is Herbert the problem, or is the system around him letting him down?
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Source: ClutchPoints
