Justin Herbert answered a lot of critics on Sunday night when he outperformed the man who was selecting above him in the 2020 NFL draft, as his Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Miami Dolphins at SoFi Stadium.
Heading into the 2020 season, the two top quarterbacks in the class has been Herbert from Oregon, and Tua Tagovailoa, who ousted Jalen Hurts as Alabama's starting quarterback.
Out of nowhere, Joe Burrow had one of the best seasons in college football history, throwing the ball to now-NFL superstars Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase, and went on to rightly be drafted first overall.
Herbert and Tagovailoa would continue to split opinions, but it would be the Hawaiian who went first, going to Miami at five with Herbert drafted by the LA Chargers at six.
Since then, it has been Herbert who has been objectively better in his first two seasons, throwing 42 more touchdowns, whilst many would argue being held back by questionable coaching.
This year though, Tagovailoa has taken a huge leap in his play, with help from new coaching and superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill joining the team. Tagovailoa has even been mentioned in MVP discussions, but that case is likely gone now after back-to-back poor performances in losses to the Niners and Chargers.
And in reaction to last nights loss in which Herbert looked to be the better quarterback, with Tagovailoa only completing 10 passes, it is being argued that the two are not close in terms of the level that they're capable of playing at.
Speaking on The Volume, John Middlekauff said: "Tua, for the last two weeks, has been horrendous, he's been God awful, terrible. He's not been good against two - the 49ers are a playoff level team and the Chargers, we'll see.
"One guy is in a different universe. Not just in his physical attributes, but in how good he is at playing the position.
"The MVP of the Miami Dolphins was never Tua, it was Tyreek Hill [who is] I dunno, one of the greatest f****** wide receivers in the history of the league. Tua is benefitting from playing with some really good players. He's hit them on some deep balls, but he can't move, he's not that accurate, and when he gets hit he crumbles like a cookie.
"Justin Herbert is 6"5' plus, with an enormous arm, and he's kept this team afloat when his coach is the village idiot, his defence for the last couple of years has been a joke, and his wide receivers have been in and out of the line-up because they've had high ankle sprains and bad hamstrings.
"His offensive line with the Chargers is not that great. When you see him and he's on, like tonight, that's like Josh Allen, that's like Patrick Mahomes, that's like Tom Brady in his prime. That's what it looks like. When you use your eyes and watch the game, you go 'yeah'."
The Dolphins are now two wins behind the Buffalo Bills, and must halt their slide, in being in danger of missing out of the playoffs.
