The Los Angeles Chargers are 1-3 now, but Anthony Lynn can’t justify benching Justin Herbert when or if Tyrod Taylor is healthy.
The Los Angeles Chargers fell to 1-3 on the season with a 38-31 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. But rookie quarterback Justin Herbert continued to look the part, completing 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Herbert made his first NFL start on very short notice in Week 2 against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, and he held his own (22-for-33, 311 yards, two total touchdowns) as the Chargers faded late and lost 23-20. Taylor’s bizarre health situation, with a misplaced pain injection for injured ribs that caused a punctured lung, has led to two more starts (at minimum) for Herbert.
Herbert topped 300 passing yards again in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, going 35-for-49 for 330 yards as the Chargers’ rally fell short in a 21-16 loss.
In true Chargers’ fashion, their three losses have all been by one score and by a combine total of 15 points. If not for some good breaks against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, they’d be 0-4 with four narrow losses.
Herbert has not been flawless in his three starts, but he has not looked overwhelmed and he has not been the reason the Chargers have lost. Key injuries, particularly on defense in another Chargers’ annual tradition, have not helped.
Virtually upon Herbert being drafted, Lynn expressed commitment to Taylor as the starting quarterback for this year. That commitment has not wavered publicly, as Lynn would not even formally rule Taylor out of Sunday’s game this past week.
Lynn has said Taylor would start when he’s healthy enough to play, but exactly when that will be is unclear given what happened to him. And nothing he did in the season opener, albeit possibly a little banged up if he hurt this ribs in that game, should have guaranteed him anything if he had been healthy all the way so far.
It’s easy to say someone should not lose their job due to injury. But Lynn’s history with Taylor from their time with the Buffalo Bills seems to give him a blind spot. It’s also hard to assume a quarterback switch wouldn’t have already happened by now, based solely on a frank assessment of Taylor’s performance if he was healthy and struggled the way he did Week 1.
Herbert has made it an easy call for Lynn. Only an injury of his own should take him out of the starting lineup now. If Taylor is blindly re-anointed as the starter when he’s cleared to suit up, that’s a fireable move by the Chargers’ head coach.