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Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) scrambles for a long gain on a scoring drive in the second quarter against the Bengals. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The two passes Justin Herbert completed to rookie Ladd McConkey on the Chargers’ final drive were noteworthy not because of their precision or degree of difficulty. What made them extraordinary were the events that preceded them.
Herbert had missed on each of his previous seven pass attempts. He’d lost a fumble. The Chargers had blown a 21-point lead to the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the Chargers looking as if they were “Chargerging” again, how did Herbert maintain the confidence to throw the ball over Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton and into the hands of McConkey for a 28-yard gain?
How was he able to remain composed enough to deliver a 27-yard strike to McConkey two plays later, this time with a Bengals lineman about to drive him into the turf at SoFi Stadium?
For that matter, how could he work up the nerve to make a promise to safety Derwin James Jr. before taking the field for that drive?
“He said he was going to go out and make the play,” a smiling James later recalled, “and then he went out and did it.”
The Chargers Ladd McConkey (15), who had six receptions for 123 yards against the Bengals, is tackled by Logan Wilson after making a catch. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Herbert’s passes to McConkey moved the Chargers into field-goal range and set up a 29-yard touchdown run by J.K. Dobbins that marked the difference in their 34-27 victory over the Bengals.
Herbert did more than improve the Chargers to 7-3. He spared them the kind of late-game disaster for which their franchise is known, from chatter that not even coach Jim Harbaugh could defeat the Chargers Curse.
“Start the MVP talk,” Dobbins said.
If how the game ended displayed Herbert’s resilience, the first half was a demonstration of the 26-year-old quarterback’s dominance.
Opposite of Herbert was the quarterback who was…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/chargers-start-mvp-talk-justin-110025519.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-11-18 11:00:25
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