Justin Herbert Praised by Chargers' Harbaugh After Win vs. Chiefs, 'He's a Problem'

Jim Harbaugh had nothing but praise for Justin Herbert's performance in the Los Angeles Chargers' 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.

Speaking to reporters after the marquee win, Harbaugh described Herbert as "a problem" when he is operating at the peak of his powers like he did against the Chiefs.

"He is hard to deal with," Harbaugh said. "He's a problem."

Herbert finished 25-of-34 for 318 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also ran for 32 yards, including a 19-yard scramble on third-and-14 late in the fourth quarter to seal the Chargers' first win over Kansas City since Week 3 of the 2021 season.

When you consider that this was a primetime game against a marquee opponent that has given the Chargers all sorts of problems in recent years, it could be argued this was the best game of Herbert's NFL career.

One of the criticisms of Herbert is that he can be too robotic after the snap. He's so good at operating inside the pocket and surveying the field, then using his arm talent to make throws few quarterbacks in the league could even think of attempting.

That's not a bad way to live, but the best signal-callers in the league are also able to ad-lib when circumstances call for it. Herbert is not regarded as a runner, despite being a good athlete who can move.

Herbert specifically mentioned during the preseason that he wanted to scramble and "extend plays on my feet" more often this season.

We only have a sample size of one game, but the results so far look very promising. Going back to the start of the 2024 season, the Chargers are 5-0 in five games that Herbert has run for at least 30 yards.

It's imperfect to say that Herbert running alone is the reason that the Chargers are winning games, but his ability to create outside of the usual structure of the offense can open things up for the rest of the team.

The Chargers will get some extra time off before their Week 2 game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football. They will be going for the second consecutive 2-0 start under Harbaugh and two division wins to open the season.