The Ultimate Proof That Justin Herbert Is One of the NFL’s Most Clutch Quarterbacks

Justin Hebert has shown clutch performances throughout his career. See how he ranks amongst his peers in clutch situations.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) throws the ball in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Chargers will be welcoming back veterans when they report for training camp on Tuesday July 28th. Franchise quarterback Justin Herbert enters camp with a new offensive coordinator who should be able to ditch the boring offenses of previous Chargers teams.

Herbert has become a somewhat polarizing quarterback around the NFL and a catalyst for debate. The Chargers lack of playoff success is always a factor in one way or another when discussing Herbert. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was hired to specifically find the remedy to cure the offensive woes that have faced the Chargers in back-to-back-first-round playoff exits.

Despite the constant debate around Herbert, he is consistently ranked highly in most publications and by his peers. Multiple former NFL quarterbacks have come to Herbert's defense including recently Derek and David Carr as well as Giants legend Phil Simms.

Recently, on an episode of the Athletic Football Show, co-hosts Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman had a trivia segment identifying the most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL since the 2020 season. The measuring point for the trivia was the top ten quarterbacks in terms of most game -winning drives.

TAFS Trivia: Can you name the most clutch NFL quarterbacks since 2020 in 60 seconds?@robertmays | @davehelman_ pic.twitter.com/F4DLSNfFAa

— The Athletic Football Show (@TA_FootballShow) July 25, 2026

Justin Herbert comes in third ahead of Josh Allen and just one behind the game-winning drive leaders Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins. Herbert has 19 total game-winning drives in either the fourth quarter or overtime and has orchestrated fifteen fourth-quarter comebacks so far in his career.

Any argument stating Herbert has not been clutch or that he needs to step up in big moments is simply uninformed. He is entering year seven and will already pass legendary quarterbacks with one more fourth-quarter comeback, including his own head coach.

The goal for the Chargers defense is to prevent the need for fourth-quarter comebacks. Herbert has largely been asked to play the role of a superhero to maintain offensive success, especially in 2025 with the offensive line dealing with severe injuries.

The past few seasons, especially in the Chargers' playoff appearances, the defense held up their end of the bargain and gave the Chargers a chance. If Herbert is to finally shake the weight of no playoff wins off of his back and silence critics, he will get his best chance with McDaniel this season if the Chargers can find their way into the postseason tournament, ideally without needing fourth-quarter heroics.