When the Los Angeles Chargers lost quarterback Justin Herbert for the season they not only lost their signal caller, they apparently lost their best run-blocker.
During today’s broadcast of the Bills-Chargers game, NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth shared a stunning stat that he got from Pro Football Focus. Apparently, Herbert is the Chargers’ top-rated run blocker by the analytics outlet.
Collinsworth explained that the default rating for all NFL players is a 60 for run-blocking. But the Chargers’ offensive line has been so putrid this season that not one of them grades at least the minimum score for a competent group of run blockers.
The Chargers rank in the bottom half of the league in nearly all rushing-related categories. That said, it’s still kind of wild to see a quarterback ranked as a team’s best run-blocker.
As a result, most people took the stat as a sign that PFF’s analytics are deeply flawed:
Cris Collinsworth shouting out his @PFF pic.twitter.com/2l39yTQrgA
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) December 24, 2023
“It shows how flawed the PFF rating numbers are which we already knew,” one user wrote.
“Mostly an indictment on PFF if we’re being honest,” wrote another.
“Had not been a great year, but PFF needs work though too,” a third said.
Is the Chargers offensive line that bad or is it just a bad metric from PFF?