It isn’t often when top 10 quarterbacks captain bottom-of-the-barrel passing offenses. But that has been the case for the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert. Whether or not you support the offensive philosophy the numbers don’t lie.
By traditional counting stats and more advanced efficiency measures, they rank at or near the bottom of the league. They are 31st in passing yards per game and they are dead last with only 93 passing attempts this year. All four of Herbert’s games this year fall into the top 10 of the fewest passing attempts in his career.
Justin Herbert Unfazed By Offensive Lack
They are 22nd in passing offense by FTN’s DVOA. They are 26th when it comes to EPA per play and 24th in passing success rate.
The running game on the other hand has propelled the offense, which is all well and good until they played stout run defenses. In the first two games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers, they rushed for over 400 yards. In the two subsequent games, they have just 116 yards.
When teams are able to stop that aspect, the Chargers don’t have a second pitch to throw. Despite all of this Herbert isn’t worried.
“Panicking doesn’t help. I see it as a confidence and faith that we’re going to get things right,” Herbert said. “It’s a new offense, it’s a tough offense. We’re going to get it picked up. As long as we’re moving forward, that’s all we can ask for.”
The Chargers are coming out of their bye week, or what head coach Jim Harbaugh called opportunity week. He called it that because it was a chance to work on improving in ‘areas that we need it.’ and go from ‘good to great.’ In this case, it would have to be going from bad to better. Herbert essentially said that the offense was an area that needed improvement, but has faith that they will get to a better spot.
“We know how complex the offense is, but one of the great things about it is it is able to scheme up and put our team in a position to win,” Herbert said.
Hopefully, the bye week served its function. The Chargers now prepare to play against one of the best defenses in the league — the Denver Broncos. They have allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards per game and the sixth-fewest rushing yards per game. They also have the fourth most quarterback pressures in the league.
