Justin Herbert has thrown an interception in every game this season, and the Chargers have lost every one. Sunday’s 24-9 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium marked the quarterback’s seventh.
Herbert went 24-of-32 for a season-high 257 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Both picks produced Rams points; the second, thrown straight to Trent McDuffie with Charlie Kolar as the target, set up Puka Nacua’s 18-yard score.
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On “Speakeasy,” his YouTube show, Emmanuel Acho laid out the possibilities:
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“There are only a couple options. Either Herbert is invested in the opponent, or Herbert is gambling on the opponent, or Herbert simply cannot see – because he is too talented, based upon physical attributes, to continuously make this mistake. He’s coming off of a bye week where all he had was time to lock in, do a self audit, focus on ball,” Acho complained
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“You can’t win with this. You can’t play with this. You can’t succeed with this. Justin Herbert is like a black hole into the abyss of h*ll that the current Chargers are in. And regardless of what any other player on the Chargers does, so long as Justin Herbert is at quarterback, it will lead to an L.”
The gambling line is Acho’s flourish, not a finding. The production behind his frustration is real: Herbert leads the NFL with 10 interceptions against five touchdowns, and the offense has not reached the end zone in nine quarters.
The two-time Pro Bowler is struggling, but so is his offensive line. The Chargers quarterback has been sacked 23 times, tied for second, behind Deshaun Watson’s league-leading 33. Herbert is second in QB pressure rate at 36.4%, per StatRankings.
Justin Herbert follows Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers stint as they go 0-7 for the first time since 2000
The last time the franchise started 0-7, in 2000, Harbaugh was one of its quarterbacks. He started five games for that 1-15 San Diego team and lost all five, per ESPN Insights.
Los Angeles has gone 27 straight possessions without a touchdown, the NFL’s longest streak since the 2024 Dolphins went 30 under Mike McDaniel, now the Chargers’ play-caller. The last touchdown came on Kimani Vidal’s 42-yard run against Denver on Oct. 11.
Harbaugh continues to back his offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, and allows him to call the plays despite the Chargers’ offense ranking in the bottom three of the NFL in points, touchdowns, yards per play, red zone drives, and pressure rate, and among the worst in interceptions and sacks, per ESPN Insights.
Jim Harbaugh answered “No” when asked whether a benching was under consideration. Herbert did not dispute the criticism: “I’d love to have played better and made better decisions, but, you know, I haven’t.”
Houston visits SoFi Stadium in Week 9 with the benching question on the record and no obvious answer behind it.
Edited by Aman Kashyap
