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Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh Gave Trey Lance the Justin Herbert Treatment After Big Game
Perhaps no NFL coach more enthusiastically hypes up his quarterback than Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh was seen in midseason form during Thursday night's Hall of Fame Game between the Chargers and Detroit Lions when he went over to starter Trey Lance and gave him the ol' quarterback treatment.
The broadcast's cameras caught Harbaugh's iconic hype-man gesture on the sidelines as he started animatedly hitting and slapping Lance's pads—a Harbaugh tradition reserved for his favorite signal-callers.
Check out that great moment below:
a harbaugh tradition pic.twitter.com/ulzaV3A5Ot
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 1, 2025
"Big night for Trey. Just played calm, cool, collected, ran the operation, threw the ball really well," Harbaugh said of Lance's performance after the Chargers' 34–7 win.
Lance, who joined the Chargers on a one-year deal earlier this offseason, completed 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns through three quarters. While it wasn't exactly meaningful football, it was a great opportunity for the 2021 No. 3 pick to get acquainted with his new team.
Prior to signing with the Chargers, Lance spent short stints on the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, starting just five games in his last three NFL seasons. He'll compete against veteran Taylor Heinicke for the backup job behind Justin Herbert.
Fans loved seeing Harbaugh officially welcome Lance to the team:
Trey Lance swapped in for Alex Smith, 14 years later. Time is a flat circle https://t.co/jCc1mAxoWg
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 1, 2025
Trey getting the full Harbaugh 🥹 https://t.co/Ux2O3s2j7X
— Erin Dooley, MD (@_dooleynoted) August 1, 2025
Never seen lance smile like that https://t.co/E03dt1nMgM
— Mr.Lu (@Bumblebee133286) August 1, 2025
QB whisperer https://t.co/ahNbtn8OGh
— Mama Ruffin (@boltsandhalos) August 1, 2025
Nice to see a coach that believes in him https://t.co/FVPFihL5jG
— NinerBros (@NinerBros) August 1, 2025
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Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.