Chargers QB Justin Herbert’s Path to Success in 2026 is Really Quite Simple

According to Nick Shook of NFL.com, the only division in the league with a better set of quarterback than the AFC West entering 2026 is the NFC West. The latter has three signal-callers (Seattle’s Sam Darnold, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy) that have started a Super Bowl—with both Darnold and Stafford winning titles.

The AFC West has a solid core of talented quarterbacks

Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes — Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Back to the AFC West. There’s quite the mix of youth and experience when it comes to Denver’s Bo Nix, three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert. As for the Las Vegas Raiders, it remains to be seen if veteran Kirk Cousins or 2025 national champion Fernando Mendoza (the first overall pick in April’s draft) gets the Week 1 start.

With the exception of the Raiders, the other three AFC West teams made the playoffs during Nix’s debut season in 2024, and the Broncos and Chargers returned to the postseason in ’25.

The Chargers have been a playoff team the past two seasons

Shook evaluated each of these club’s quarterback situations, but the focus here is on Jim Harbaugh’s club and their six-year field general. The Chargers finished 11-6 this past season, as was the case in 2024. Both seasons resulted in playoff appearances. However Harbaugh’s team came up very short in road losses to the Texans (32-12) and Patriots, respectively.

Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert showed a lot of resiliency in 2025

Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2025 season was a difficult one for Herbert, who put up pretty respectable numbers behind one of the most problem-plagued offensive lines in the league. He threw for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns, plus rushed for a career-best 498 yards and a pair of scores in 16 regular-season outings. However, he was also sacked 54 times and committed 15 turnovers in those contests.

There was also the aforementioned wild card loss at Foxborough, in which he threw for only 159 yards, lost one of his two fumbles, and was sacked six times. Hence, Shook offered this advice to the Bolts when it came to a quarterback that despite a lot of adversity was named to his second Pro Bowl in 2025.

What’s the key to QB Justin Herbert having more success in 2026?

“Please protect him, Chargers,” implored Shook. “He played heroically in 2025 despite being under constant assault, proving his toughness behind an injury-riddled o-line. It wasn't his best season, but it might have been his most impressive. It's time for the Chargers to build on that, instead of spinning their wheels because of trench deficiencies.”

General manager Joe Hortiz certainly addressed the issue this offseason. Of course, a lot depends on how healthy tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt will be in September. The former missed all of 2025 and Alt played in only six games.

The experienced newcomers on the offensive line include center Tyler Biadasz, as well as guards Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika. Hortiz used four of his eight draft choices in April on offensive line help, and also added a couple of undrafted free agents.

There’s plenty to work with here, and if the team can put Humpty Dumpty back together again up front, this will be an interesting year for Herbert, Harbaugh, and an offense (with new coordinator Mike McDaniel) overdue for a big season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google