"He played darn near perfect. It was a heck of a game. The other (option) would be, "No you can't play. We're going to take it out of your hands. We're going to let a warrior not be a warrior." That doesn't resonate with me. And, its Justin Herbert. They don't make um' like him."
"It was a tough game. You're not going to see a quarterback in any level of football, play tougher, do more for their team, will their team to give them a chance than him. There is nobody that can do what he can do. Nobody. He showed a lot of guts. He showed us what he shows us every day. That we are never out of the fight."
Do you know which one of these is a two-year-old Brandon Staley quote and which one is Jim Harbaugh from a few days ago?
It isn't easy to tell coaches apart based purely on the transcript, is it? Called coachspeak for a reason; they speak in platitudes, clichés, and anachronisms.
Both men were talking about their star quarterback playing through an injury. In 2024, Justin Herbert is rehabbing a high ankle sprain he aggravated last week in Pittsburgh; a game he started despite getting almost no practice time. Herbert threw for 125 passing yards and a touchdown before he was forced from the game in the third quarter.
Oh, the first quote was Harbaugh's if you hadn't figured it out.
Sticking to a season-long pattern, Harbaugh and the team were elusive regarding the severity of the injury. Why aid their opponents with clarity when obfuscation extracts a mental toll on the other sideline?
The previous Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers started in 252 consecutive professional games (including playoffs) over his seventeen seasons in the NFL. That and a $5 bill will get him a cup of coffee.
What is an ironman streak besides a badge of honor that your fans wear? Outside of the Chargers Bubble, no one cares about that streak. I'd wager that most Charger fans probably don't even know it.
The goal is to hoist a Lombardi trophy in February, not to be a trivia answer in July.
Who cares if Justin Herbert's three game starting streak comes to an end on Sunday? The organization should prioritize the 26-year-old's long term health. Fourteen games remain on the schedule and the next month's slate is not exactly a gauntlet.
If Herbert cannot play, Taylor Heinicke, who is in his seventh NFL season, is expected to get the start. Even if Herbert starts, Heinicke should have his helmet by his side at all times because the franchise is one play away from disaster.
If you follow the team as closely as I do then you couldn't help feeling a sense of déjà vu this week after an offseason of talk about how new strength coach Ben Herbert would acquit the roster of the injury woes that have plagued them since time began. It only took three games for that ship to run aground on the same treacherous rocks as all the other ones.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater exited the Steelers game before Herbert with a strained pectoral muscle. He is out for Sunday. Rookie sensation right tackle Joe Alt had his knee wrenched beneath him on the team's final possession in the fourth quarter when Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward rolled into his right leg spraining his MCL. He is doubtful. Swing tackle Trey Pipkins missed practice time this week with a foot injury.
On top of all that, center Bradley Bozeman might just be plain bad.
The reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs (and defensive genius Steve Spagnuolo) come to Sofi on Sunday; a formidable challenge for the best teams at full strength. Oh, and the Chargers have a week off after this.
Do you see the incentives of sitting Herbert down yet?
The question is: Do the Chargers?
Asked about his limited participation in practice, Harbaugh said Herbert was able to do “more” this week than in the week leading up to the Steelers game. No doubt that Herbert and the training staff are working around the clock to fight the inflammation in his left ankle.
It is a fight against both the clock and the frailty of the body that Harbaugh knows well, having played for 14 seasons in the NFL. “I’ve been in that position before,” said Harbaugh. “With warriors, you give them the shot. And that’s what I wanted to do.”
And there it is. Despite the billions spent to provide for the physical and mental well-being of their players, football often reverts to the Spartan phalanx; defending the cradle of democracy in a mountain pass.
Come back with your shield, or on it.
"Justin is the kind of guy you have to pull back, you know?" said Harbaugh. "You're never going to have to talk him into anything, but he does have to be pulled back."
You don't make it this far in professional sports without being tough. If Herbert feels like he can compete on that ankle Sunday then he is going to want to.
All indications thus far show us that he won't be pulled back against the Chiefs until he has trouble walking under his own power. Herbert wants to play, and the coaching staff seems inclined to let him.
“Listed as questionable, and we’ll see,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the best that I can do as far as predicting anything.”
Unless they prove us wrong and this entire week of PR was an exercise in subterfuge.
I'm sure Taylor Heinicke is a nice guy. Heinicke who has been in the league since 2017 has started 29 games and attempted nearly a thousand passes in his career.
What happens if Heinicke plays well? Would it spark a quarterback controversy? Would the Chargers have to question their decision to extend Herbert's contract last season? Would the internet mob mock him for not winning more games?
Unlikely. Well, except for that last hypothetical. They do that regardless.
Taylor Heinicke could throw for 300 yards, three touchdowns, and beat the Chiefs and when Herbert is healthy, anyone who suggests that Heinicke keep playing should have their driver's license revoked. Drug test them.
The schedule is cushioned with cupcakes for the next two months. Oddsmakers will likely project the Chargers as favorites until a November 25 visit from the Baltimore Ravens—contingent on Herbert playing.
Without him, they still might be favored in half of those games against lower tier teams like Denver (1-2), New Orleans (2-1), Cleveland (1-2), Arizona (2-1), Tennessee (0-3), and Cincinnati (0-3). The Chargers roster is talented enough to survive this stretch while his ankle begins to heal.
Why not rest the franchise quarterback? It is a long season and Heinicke has played in bigger games than this. He threw for 300 yards in a playoff game against Tom Brady and the eventual Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
Well, who the heck is Taylor Heinicke?
"I know who I am," Heinicke wrote in the Player's Tribune in March, 2023 upon leaving Washington as a free agent. "I don’t have the strongest arm. I throw a decent amount of picks. I do some dumb stuff sometimes out there. I cop to all that. It’s true. But I also fight like hell. And I know how to get W’s. So, at the end of the day, I hope that I still gave you all something to cheer for."
As Harbaugh is so fond of saying, competitors are welcome. We know that he would never punt on a game because a handful of his players can't dress. It goes against the grain of his psyche, philosophical beliefs, and ego. Competition animates the man's soul.
"I played the game and also coached it." said Harbaugh. "I never went into a game, as a player or a coach, where I didn't have confidence and belief in the next man up."
He has an opportunity to prove it tomorrow, in one way or another. For as much pride as some take in Justin starting games, some of us would like to see him finish them.
Great piece. Given the result and the cringeworthy sight of Herbert eeking out another “complete” game on a tape job that might as well have been a cast, one has to wonder, at what cost?
See what TH can do and if it’s trash the Herbie will need to power through
If wanting my Bolts to go all of the way requires some sacrifices than so be it! Back in my day they would smuggle knives under the leather caps and we’d settle things like men. Lets have a return to tradition shall we?
Best article ever