Why Chiefs, Spags Aren’t Taking Anything for Granted With Herbert

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Justin Herbert has beaten both quarterbacks from the last Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes in Week 1 and Jalen Hurts on Monday night.

After an awkward postgame interview with Laura Rutledge, he now has the opportunity to reverse an awkward narrative, that he can’t beat the Chiefs when games matter most.

Watch Spagnuolo discuss below...

Herbert is 2-7 in head-to-head meetings with Mahomes, but both of his wins were in September. And the only time Herbert beat the Chiefs in the second meeting of a season was 2020, when Mahomes and the other Kansas City starters rested for the playoffs.

But don’t think the Chiefs are taking anything for granted when Herbert makes another appearance in Kansas City on Sunday (12 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan).

“The quarterback is an issue,” Steve Spagnuolo said Thursday, “both with his arm and with his feet. I think he's playing outstanding. … He refuses to go down in certain situations, and he just fights tooth and nail and finds a way to will his team to wins. And that's what he's been doing. It's pretty, pretty impressive.”

Since the beginning of his career

Like Spagnuolo, Chris Jones has watched Herbert’s career develop literally from the start, when the quarterback got an emergency first NFL start in an overtime thriller back in 2020.

“Have much respect for the quarterback,” Jones added Thursday. “He's tough. He's a tough one. I think he's playing with a broken left hand right now, and still doing it, man. So, I got much respect for those guys.”

justin herber — [US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) picks up a first down against Kansas City Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner (27) during a NFL game at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images | Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images

Those guys threw a bit of a curveball at Spagnuolo’s unit in a 27-21 season opening win. The Chargers caught Kansas City off guard with a pass-first gameplan, and Herbert posted what’s still a season-high 131.7 passer rating. He completed 25 of 34 attempts (73.5 percent) for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I remember going into that game thinking, ‘Hey, they'll try to control the football with the run game,” Spagnuolo recalled, “and boom, they came out and I think that first drive they might have run it twice.”

Herbert needed to run it just once late in the fourth quarter, sneaking around the right edge for a 19-yard first down that iced the Chargers’ victory. The quarterback had 32 yards on seven carries in Week 1.

But since that opener, the Chiefs have consistently kept dangerous quarterbacks in the pocket. Hurts (15 yards), Marcus Mariota (28) and Josh Allen (19) were limited on the ground, although Trevor Lawrence (54) and Lamar Jackson (48) hurt them like Herbert.

Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill, who began his career with the Chargers and played a big role in keeping that Week 1 loss within reach, said Los Angeles has built its offense around Herbert. Including rookie running back Omarion Hampton and rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden, the Chargers have effectively used their personnel.

“Obviously, we know about the quarterback,” Tranquill said, “and the toughness he's exhibited and how good of a player he is. He gets the ball to all these different guys. They've got the emerging rookie tight end, they've got all the receivers, obviously, got the rookie running back, back.

“They put a good plan together every week, and they challenge you in a lot of different areas. They keep you on your toes.”

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