After a slow start to the game for the offense, quarterback Justin Herbert took matters into his own hands. Late in the first quarter, Herbert took off for a 38-yard run, the longest of his five-year NFL career.
The play jumpstarted the offense, as they would go down and snag three points. From there, the Chargers didn’t look back.
“[I] loved the run, I thought that really got us going. Really sparked us. It showed what he can do. He can run and he can run fast,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Herbert had just 34 rushing yards on the season entering Week 8. While his running abilities aren’t necessarily a strength of his game, an ankle injury has prevented him from being able to scramble this season effectively.
On that run, it was clear that this was the healthiest that Herbert had been all season. The Chargers can thank the NFL for their Week 5 bye, which allowed their franchise quarterback to heal that ankle issue.
“It’s always one play like that can change the direction of the game… The ankle is feeling better so I feel like I got up somewhat to a good speed,” Herbert said after the massive victory.
Not only has it helped his scrambling, but Herbert has also been slinging the rock since the bye week. In the last two games, he’s thrown for 628 yards and has been able to deliver on deep throws.
The veteran noted that he would “do anything” to help jumpstart the team’s offense, and he did just that. In case you forgot, Herbert did run a 4.68 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Combine, so he does have some respectable speed.
This offense should be better moving forward now that Herbert is the healthiest he’s been all year. With that, expect him to be able to pick up crucial first downs with more scrambles like that.
