Chargers OL: Justin Herbert in 'Sicko Mode,' Hypes QB as 'a F--king Animal' After Win

If there was any doubt as to Justin Herbert's influence within the Los Angeles Chargers locker room, he put that to bed in Thursday's 34-27 comeback win over the Denver Broncos.

"We would follow him into the depths of hell," offensive guard Trey Pipkins III said, per The Athletic's Daniel Popper. "We would literally follow him anywhere and lay our lives on the line for that man."

Pipkins added that Herbert went "sicko mode" against Denver and is a "f--king animal."

Herbert's final stat line is good but not necessarily exceptional. He finished 23-of-31 for 284 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

But the second-half display from the 2021 Pro Bowler was a performance that justified all of the hype that has followed him from early into his NFL career. The Chargers reeled off 21 unanswered points during one stretch as the Broncos defense had no answer for slowing L.A. down.

The plays Herbert executed were also what you'd expect of an elite signal-caller. On his 19-yard touchdown pass to Derius Davis early in the fourth quarter, he was moving to his left as he floated the ball over the top to his receiver.

All the while, the 26-year-old is still dealing with a nagging ankle injury. That didn't stop him from running for 28 yards on eight carries.

Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater called Herbert "the ultimate competitor," per Popper.

"He uplifts everybody around him, just the way he goes about his business, the fire he plays with," Slater said. "He's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."

One prevailing narrative surrounding Herbert is that his stats inflate his actual value. Surely a quarterback with his reputation would have more than one playoff start through his first four years.

The counter to that argument is that the Chargers' issues on the field extended well beyond the output of their starting quarterback.

Herbert's 216.2 passing yards per game are on pace to be a career low. Should Los Angeles punch a ticket to the postseason—it's sitting sixth in the AFC at 9-6—he's nonetheless likely to start winning over some of his longstanding skeptics.