BALTIMORE — Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale had a strange way of describing Justin Herbert’s arm strength when he said: “He’s one of those guys who can throw a strawberry through a battleship.”
Herbert wasn’t sure whether those odd words were a compliment.
“I just hope he meant it in a nice way,” Herbert said. “I have a lot of respect for him and his defense.”
Herbert later realized Martindale was praising his arm strength and mentioned that he’s heard stranger compliments. These days, many have been praising the Chargers’ second-year quarterback who is in the mix for the NFL’s MVP award.
But Herbert won’t be the only MVP-candidate quarterback on the field Sunday when the Chargers face dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Herbert and Jackson received most of the praise heading into this Week 6 showdown between 4-1 teams. Chargers coach Brandon Staley said no one in the history of the NFL has done what Jackson has been able to do with his passing and mobility since entering the league in 2018.
“He’s truly one of a kind,” Staley said.
But Staley doesn’t want the sole focus of this matchup to be on the quarterbacks.
Staley said his team is filled with star players, especially on an offense that scored 47 points, including 26 in the final quarter, against the Cleveland Browns’ stout defense last week.
Herbert is playing point guard, but he’s receiving stellar contributions from wide receiver Keenan Allen, a Pro Bowl regular, wide receiver Mike Williams, who is in the midst of a career year, and dynamic running back Austin Ekeler, who has made his fantasy football managers happy this season.
The Chargers round out their red-hot offense with tight ends Jared Cook and Donald Parham Jr. to provide Herbert with mismatches to move the chains on third and fourth downs. Herbert is also well protected by rookie left tackle Rashawn Slater, center Corey Linsley and left guard Matt Feiler. If the pocket collapses, Herbert is able to create magic with off-platform throws to his abundance of playmakers.
In Los Angeles, a city known for favoring flashy high-scoring offenses no matter the sport, the Chargers offer an entertaining product with a star quarterback running an aggressive, explosive offense. The Chargers’ offense is 7 for 7 on fourth-down conversion attempts this season, not including a fake punt try against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4.
But the Chargers aren’t just drawing attention locally and luring fans to SoFi Stadium. What Herbert and the offense have done through five games has attracted national attention. They’ve become must-see TV with a “Showtime” offense.
“Certainly, what fans are interested in is high-caliber football,” Staley said. “Offensively, you have to be able to score in this league. When you can do it the way we’re doing it, where, going back to the Lakers, if you want to make that comparison, there were a lot of good offensive players on the Lakers. It wasn’t just Magic (Johnson) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). You had a lot of players – you know Michael Cooper, James Worthy, Byron Scott, you had a lot of guys making plays on that team.
“I think that most people that watch the game like to see a lot of people touch the ball. They want to see continuity where it’s not just one person that’s dominating the ball. They want to see a team that can score a lot of different ways. People show up for stars in pro sports and I think our team has a lot of them, in terms of guys that the average fan is going to say, ‘That person stands out to me.’ We have them in all three phases of the game.”
The Chargers have a long way to go before they can be compared to some of the league’s historic offenses, but they’re attracting attention in a city where they’ve been mostly afterthoughts since moving from San Diego in 2017.
They’ve been a prolific offense and will probably have a handful of players named to the Pro Bowl at the end of the season. But the Chargers aren’t playing for Pro Bowl selections nor to attract attention with a flashy offense.
Staley wants a complete team to become a legit Super Bowl contender and they’re headed in that direction with wins against Washington, Kansas City and the Browns, three teams that made the playoffs last season. They also beat the then-undefeated Las Vegas Raiders on “Monday Night Football.” The Chargers’ lone loss was against the Dallas Cowboys, a 4-1 team that sits atop the NFC East.
“The last thing that people are going to show up for is playing as a complete team,” Staley said. “We want to have a team that’s capable of beating people in a lot of different ways. That’s what you got to have, ultimately, because as much as you want to talk about ‘Showtime’, like you need ‘Showtime’ and then you need people that can stop people. That’s what we’re trying to do, is be able to win the game a bunch of different ways because that’s what great teams do.
“We’re still at the beginning, but what I would tell you is that Chargers fans, through five games, have seen us play five real football teams. They have a pretty accurate look about where we’re at so far.”
The Chargers can provide a clearer picture of their team by beating the Ravens and going into their bye week with a 5-1 record. But the defense will need to do its part against Jackson, who was sensational while erasing a 19-point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
“I don’t think his game through the air gets enough credit,” Herbert said. “He’s able to throw the ball extremely well and he’s able to do everything. If the protection breaks down, he’s able to get out of there and make plays no one else on this planet can make. I know that the defense is working hard and doing their best, watching as much film as they can to get a good beat for their offense.”
Herbert had his own memorable performance last week when he propelled the Chargers with a five-touchdown effort (one rushing) to erase a 14-point deficit against the Browns.
The Chargers and Ravens have more to offer than their quarterbacks, but this showdown might come down to which team does the best job limiting the opposing QB.
“We don’t want to hype him up too bad this week,” Jackson said of Herbert. “But he’s definitely been balling out – balling out of control.”