DENVER — Justin Herbert is getting healthier. He showed that convincingly Sunday in the Los Angeles Chargers’ 23-16 win over the Denver Broncos. And as Herbert’s right high ankle sprain mends, the Chargers offense’s long-term outlook is looking increasingly optimistic.
Herbert set season highs in passing yards (237) and pass attempts (34) in Sunday’s victory, the Chargers’ first at Empower Field at Mile High since 2018. He dropped back 38 times. His previous high in dropbacks this season was 29. The result was the Chargers’ most efficient offensive performance so far under coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Hopefully this reminds everybody that Justin Herbert’s really good at playing quarterback,” Harbaugh said after the game.
The number of passes offensive coordinator Greg Roman called was noteworthy. So were the types of passes he called. The Chargers got Herbert on the move with bootlegs and designed pocket movement, concepts they largely avoided in Weeks 3 and 4 as Herbert battled through significant pain in the ankle. Herbert had more power and stability in that right leg, his plant leg, on Sunday. He was able to drive throws to all three levels of the field. And when the protection broke down, Herbert was able to navigate around pressure more effectively and consistently.
Harbaugh said Herbert “getting more mobile” was a factor in the uptick in passing Sunday. Herbert first suffered the injury in Week 2. He was unable to finish a Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers after aggravating the high ankle sprain. And he was still physically limited in a Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“When he can be back there and defend (himself), some deeper drops, I think that was important,” said Harbaugh, who left the sideline briefly early in the first quarter to get treatment for an irregular heartbeat. “We weren’t going to risk anything with him over the last couple games. … That’s really what’s precipitating it.”
Herbert started wearing a bulkier brace on his ankle in the loss to the Chiefs. He has been wearing that brace in practice, and he wore it again Sunday. He said during the week that he felt more “comfortable” with the brace on. That has helped. But nothing is as beneficial as time off to rest. And Herbert got that during the bye in Week 5.
Herbert acknowledged Sunday that his improving health “opens up more” in Roman’s playbook, particularly in the passing game.
“Just kind of breaking the pocket like that, I think that just adds dimensions to our offense,” Herbert said. “As long as we’re able to do that and you feel comfortable heading out of the pocket, I think it opens up our play-action game and opens up our run game. So the more we can do the better.”
Herbert rolled to his right on a play-action bootleg on the first offensive play of the game. On the first third down of the game, a third-and-2, Herbert connected with receiver Quentin Johnston over the middle off play action. Herbert had faced four third downs with 2 yards to gain heading into Sunday’s game. The Chargers ran the ball on all four of those plays.
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Herbert dropped back on seven of the Chargers’ first nine snaps. He set a season high in passing yards before the end of the first half.
He connected with rookie running back Kimani Vidal for a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Chargers a 10-0 lead. Herbert danced around pressure before delivering a pinpoint pass down the right sideline to Vidal, who was on a wheel route out of the backfield. It was Vidal’s first NFL touch.
kimani vidal’s first nfl touch is a td
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/D8GD2ZOroo
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 13, 2024
On the next drive, the Chargers drove 76 yards on 20 plays, taking more than 10 minutes off the clock. Herbert converted a third-and-8 to receiver Joshua Palmer. He converted a third-and-5 to tight end Stone Smartt. He also hit receiver Simi Fehoko on a backside dig route off play action earlier in the drive.
“It’s a step forward, for sure,” said Palmer, who caught two passes for 38 yards.
Herbert was excellent in the face of pressure. On a touchdown drive late in the first half that extended the Chargers’ lead to 20-0, Herbert deftly shuffled around Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers before throwing an off-platform laser to Ladd McConkey for a third-and-9 conversion. McConkey led the Chargers with eight targets. Herbert completed passes to nine different receivers.
“You see what he’s like when he’s trending in the healthy space,” said edge rusher Khalil Mack.
During a four-play stretch in the third quarter, Herbert made two of his best throws of the game. On a third-and-10, Fehoko was one-on-one with Broncos cornerback Riley Moss down the right sideline. Herbert identified the matchup and layered a beautiful ball over the head of Moss. Fehoko adjusted well and made a circus catch for a 30-yard gain. Herbert had four completions of 20 or more yards, his most in any game this season.
Three plays later, the Chargers faced another third-and-long. Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph dialed up a Cover 0 blitz. Herbert retreated as the blitz came and threw off his back foot, hitting McConkey in stride on an out route.
Kicker Cameron Dicker made a 46-yard field goal to cap that drive and extend the Chargers’ lead to 23-0.
“Sometimes there are going to be games where we feel like throwing is our advantage, and there are going to be times where we think we got to run the ball and make sure that we’re controlling the game,” Herbert said. “It just worked out that way that we were going to throw the ball today. I thought it was a good opportunity for those guys to make some plays on the outside. They stepped up big time with some balls downfield.”
The Chargers got both their starting tackles back for this game. Right tackle Joe Alt returned from a knee injury. Left tackle Rashawn Slater returned from a pec injury. And even though right guard Trey Pipkins III missed the second half because of a shoulder injury, the protection was markedly better than it had been in the previous two games.
Herbert took advantage.
“He’s a dog,” Slater said of Herbert. “I love it when he throws the ball. We love protecting for him. I’m happy for him to get that opportunity.”
reminder: justin herbert is rly good pic.twitter.com/KH1QqJYqWU
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 14, 2024
The Chargers could have done better to close this game out on both sides of the ball.
Roman leaned more into the running game in the second half, calling designed rushes on 56.7 percent of the offensive snaps, according to TruMedia. That rate was under 40 percent in the first half. The offense stumbled a bit. The Chargers have not scored a second-half offensive touchdown since Week 1. They have nine second-half points in their past four games, including the three they scored Sunday. So still work to do.
“It was a different game in the second half, where you have the lead and you want to be able to control the game,” Herbert said. “With the run game that we have, we believe in those guys. We want to be able to hand the ball off, control the game, control the line of scrimmage, and that’s how we saw it.”
The defense was pitching a shutout through three quarters. The unit then gave up 16 points in the final period. Cornerback Kristian Fulton left the game with a hamstring injury for the fourth quarter, and that had a major impact. The Chargers were already down cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., who was placed on IR Saturday with a shoulder injury. Nickel corner Ja’Sir Taylor was inactive with a fibula injury.
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When Fulton went out, the Chargers had two rookies playing at outside cornerback in Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart. Safety Derwin James Jr. moved into a full-time nickel role. The Broncos were able to create more in the passing game as a result. The Chargers front also let Denver quarterback Bo Nix escape the pocket in the fourth quarter, including on a fourth-and-5 scramble after safety James missed a sure-fire sack.
“It wasn’t as crisp as it was supposed to be in that fourth quarter, man, which is why I’m pissed off a little,” Mack said after the game.
Added James: “Losing Kristian was big. It kind of affected our lineup.”
Still, a division win is a division win.
The Chargers are 3-2. And they now move forward with their all-world quarterback looking very much like himself.
Herbert is healing, and now he is getting more opportunities to do what he does best: throw the football.
“We’re going to keep adding to our offense,” Herbert said.
(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
