Chargers are insane if they don’t start Justin Herbert for good
Justin Herbert should keep the starting job for the Chargers.
The Los Angeles Chargers dropped a tough one to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime Sunday. The game also marked rookie Justin Herbert’s debut after Tyrod Taylor was ruled out before the game.
Herbert stepped in and stepped up with 311 yards and a touchdown on the day. He did have an interception, but the loss does not fall on the rookie. He made his debut against the defending champions and a defense that made the Houston Texans look terrible in Week 1. Herbert should be here to stay. But that may not be the case for Anthony Lynn’s offense.
Lynn on Tyrod Taylor: “If he’s 100 percent ready to go, he’s our starter.”
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) September 21, 2020
Justin Herbert should not go back to the bench
This is a tricky situation and one Taylor has been in before. He also left with an injury in 2018 while with the Cleveland Browns and proceeded to lose his job to rookie Baker Mayfield. Now he should do the same to Herbert, but the Chargers may put off the process for some reason.
Speaking of Mayfield, he and the Browns were able to pick apart the Cincinnati Bengals defense on Thursday. That is the defense Taylor went 16/30 for 208 yards against in Week 1. Herbert was much more efficient and productive against an elite team in the Chiefs.
The Chargers are 1-1 and the loss is to the Chiefs, so there is no need to panic. But Herbert looked much better than Taylor and going back to the veteran after a bad Week 1 and an injury seems to be nothing more than needlessly protecting the rookie in Herbert.
The team went through a major transition by moving on from Philip Rivers. Drafting Herbert at No. 6 overall showed that he was the quarterback of the future and Taylor was merely the transitional guy. Lynn installing Herbert as the guy in Week 3 delays the inevitable and also gives his team a better chance to win moving forward.
Taylor is not a bad quarterback by any measure. Herbert just has way more potential and keeping him on the bench after a great game may only hurt his continued development. The lack of a preseason means rookies are learning on the fly and going against the Chiefs is quite the first test.
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Having one win allows Lynn to stick with his plan. But one more bad outing from Taylor, or one where he fails to throw a touchdown, will have Chargers fans wondering why the best quarterback on the team is on the sidelines.