When you hear about the best QBs in the NFL, the list always starts with Patrick Mahomes (and it should), then it goes to the chip-less triumvirate of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. Next, in a category all his own at #5 is regularly Justin Hebert. Why the hell is that? The trio ahead of him has MVP awards and a Super Bowl appearance. Justin Herbert has a Rookie of the Year Award and cool hair. He’s a fraud who has done nothing in this league to deserve his elite status.
Monday, December 8, 2025 – Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers
8:15pm on ABC/ESPN at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Herbert was drafted #6 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. This was the same year as Burrow who went #1 overall and Tua Tagovailoa who went directly ahead of Herbert at #5. Coming out of Oregon, it was pretty clear that Herbert had a cannon. His tape was ridiculous as it looked like laser beam footballs were being target-locked and deployed on every throw. He was amazing that first year. Of course, it helped that Burrow got hurt and Tua didn’t begin the season starting, but Herbert still deserved the ROY award. He finished with 36 total TDs and only 10 picks. That’s good for anyone let alone a rookie. The future was bright.
In year two, he made the Pro Bowl and upped his TDs to 41 total and threw for 5000 yards. The Chargers went 9-8 but missed the playoffs thanks to a 1-3 finish that didn’t exactly see Herbert play well. In year three, things started going in the wrong direction. The team was slightly better at 10-7, but the total TDs dialed way back to 25. All was okay though as Herbert came out rocking for his first playoff start against 9-8 Jacksonville. After all, the playoffs are why QB play is so important. It certainly helped that Jags QB Trevor Lawrence was giving him the game with 3 first quarter INTs (and a 4th in the 2nd quarter). Nearing the end of the first half, the score was 27-0 Chargers. 31 minutes later, the score was Chargers 30, Jags 31. It was a disaster. Herbert went 10-20 in the second half with 2 crippling sacks and obviously no TDs.
Despite the playoff failure, the Chargers felt reasonably convinced they had their guy and signed him to a monster 5/$262.5m extension, making him the highest paid player in NFL history at the time. Things didn’t go according to plan that season though. The Chargers struggling to a 5-8 record before Herbert was shutdown for the season with a broken index finger. He finished with 23 total TDs and 7 picks in 13 games.
In 2024, things seemingly came together. The Chargers went 11-6 with Herbert crushing it down the stretch with 3 consecutive wins. On the season, Herbert only threw 3 picks to 25 total TDs. It was time for playoff redemption, this time against the 10-7 Texans. Things started fine with the Chargers going up 6-0, then Herbert imploded. Over the last 3 quarters, he went 11-23 with 4 INTs, a pick-6, and a turnover on downs. The Chargers lost 12-32. For some reason, he received Comeback Player of the Year votes.
He seemed to put the playoff collapse behind him as everything looked gravy for Herbert to start this season. An opening week win over KC had everyone saying he was the early MVP favorite. Then the Chargers lost to the Giants, were bulldozed by the Commanders at home, and got annihilated by the Jaguars. Through 12 games, he sits at a pedestrian 21 TDs and 10 INTs. Their best win was the Broncos and that was in Week 3.
For his career, Herbert is a nothing special 49-42 with less than a 3-1 TD/INT ratio. He received a single MVP vote in 2022 and 4 in 2024. He has made 1 Pro Bowl and 0 All-Pro teams of any kind. He is also 0-2 in the playoffs with an all-time collapse and a 4-INT abomination on his resume. He has done nothing of substance in the league so far.
People will tell you that he has had to play with zero talent on his team this whole time. Of course, that ignores having Keenen Allen, Joey Bosa, Derwin James, Khalil Mack, and Rashawn Slater as teammates. He did regularly have Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to face twice per season, but he’s also had the perennial doormat Raiders and the middling Broncos (before this season) twice also.
So, what is it? Why are we so ready to crown Herbert? Despite all of the above, you never hear any negative criticism about him. Isn’t that damning in itself? No one cares about him. He is under absolutely zero pressure despite being in a huge market. Los Angeles isn’t some kind of football hotbed and the Chargers are their second-class citizens. If you asked the average fan, most would probably have to correct themselves from saying San Diego Chargers. They moved 9 years ago!!! Justin Herbert is only a talking point if he is on your fantasy team.
Why do I care about this so much? Well, it has nothing to do with Justin Herbert. It’s because of all the crap my QB gets both locally and nationally. Herbert blows playoff games and gets a pass. Jalen Hurts wins a Super Bowl and somehow gets criticized for it. Herbert doesn’t throw INTs and he’s applauded; Jalen gets killed for not taking enough risks. Herbert throws a game away or no shows and you don’t hear a thing (like the 6-35 disaster against the Jags two weeks ago). If Hurts doesn’t win big enough, everything from his talent to his mental ability is questioned. God forbid he loses a game, people start calling for Tanner McKee. It’s insane.
My personal favorite is the classless Steven Ruiz of the Ringer though. He used to give weekly QB rankings that routinely had Herbert in the Top 5 (he’s been top-4 this whole season) and Jalen Hurts hovering around 15. He praises Herbert for – get this – scrambling more, being creative on the run, and evading sacks. Those sound a lot like what makes Jalen Hurts great, right? Not to Steven Ruiz. Instead, Hurts holds the ball too long and is panned for not throwing into tight windows (INTs are apparently a good thing). Things that he does objectively well like throwing on the run and scrambling he actually does poorly. While Herbert has improved every year in the league (he hasn’t), Jalen is the same QB he was in 2022 (laughably not true). He considers Herbert on par with Allen, Mahomes, and Jackson as “the Big 4” while Jalen Hurts is an “elite roll player”; Super Bowls and playoff wins be damned.
I don’t have anything against Justin Herbert personally, I just don’t get why he is on the pedestal. Everyone is so eager to give him his flowers while Jalen has to endure nothing but disingenuous attacks and acrimony. Jalen Hurts deals with the bitter wilds of the Philly media better than anyone, but it would be nice for him to get just a single week in the safe cocoon of insignificance in which Herbert lives and plays every day.
Philly Front Office 
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