EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert was adamant throughout training camp that the Los Angeles Chargers offense would be a work in progress early in the season.
Since the bye week, though, the offense has begun to hit its stride and has started to resemble what Chargers fans have been used to seeing since Herbert was drafted sixth overall in 2020.
A healthier Herbert and more practice time with his receivers have opened up the vertical passing game. Going into Sunday’s game at Cleveland, Herbert has 540 passing yards in the past three games on throws of 10 yards or more.
Herbert is 22 of 36 on downfield passes since the Chargers’ Week 5 bye. That is quite a change from the first four games when he was 8 of 24.
“I don’t think people understand the extent of what he was dealing with physically in the beginning part of the year,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “So as he’s getting healthier, you can see what a difference it makes. Number two, I just think every week he’s got more and more comfortable and ownership of what we’re doing and understanding. The last couple of weeks, we’ve only scratched the surface.”
Herbert missed two weeks of training camp due to an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He then suffered a high right ankle sprain in a Week 2 win at Carolina, affecting his mobility in losses to Pittsburgh and Kansas City. The ankle injury also meant Herbert did not participate in full team drills for two weeks.
Had this been Herbert’s second or third year in Roman’s offense, the time away might not have mattered as much. But with a new system and a relatively inexperienced cast of receivers, there was too much to make up quickly.
“We had to modify a tremendous amount of what we were doing to accommodate the situation,” Roman said. “You’re not going to sit there and talk about it at the time. You just simply have to do the best you can. But in the first year, it’s probably about the worst-case scenario you can wish for.”
The Chargers’ commitment to being balanced on offense hasn’t changed throughout the season. They’ve called passing plays 51.4% of the time, their lowest rate through seven games since 2007, when it was 47.8%.
Despite the receivers’ relative lack of experience, Herbert has not thrown an interception in his last five starts, which is the league’s longest active streak and one game shy of the franchise record.
Tight end Will Dissly has 13 of his 26 receptions in the past two games. Ladd McConkey was the first Chargers rookie receiver since 2010 to have a game with 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Joshua Palmer, who had a slow start to the season, has six receptions in the past two games, including a 45-yard grab last week.
Herbert could add another target this week as DJ Chark is on track to play in his first game after being out two months with a groin injury.
Herbert is also a threat running the ball. His 38-yard scramble late in the first quarter against the Saints helped get the offense back on track.
“I think everything is coming together slowly but surely. I know we had some hiccups and a few injuries, but you can see what we can do when Justin is healthy,” Palmer said. “Just the threat of him running the ball opens everything up.”
Coach Jim Harbaugh and Roman have preached a physical mindset, but the best description of the offense’s identity might be flexibility. The unit has lacked that in recent seasons, as it ranked among the highest percentage of passing plays.
“If we can be able to do everything, whether it is being able to run the ball or throw the ball and have them both. Making sure, that’s a threat in itself, and teams have to respect that,” Herbert said. “If we can get to that point as an offense, I think it opens up a lot of things.”
J.K. Dobbins is 10th in the league with 535 rushing yards and is making a solid bid for Comeback Player of the Year after missing most of last season with an Achilles injury. Dobbins has averaged only 3.2 yards per carry in his last five games, but he has six carries of 12 yards or more.
The Chargers might need to lean into the run game more on Sunday against a Browns’ defense with the fifth-lowest completion percentage allowed on throws of 10 yards or more (43.7%).
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
