Herbert Frustrated After Chargers' Season-Opening Loss

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert voiced his frustration following the team's season-opening 32-12 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The defeat, marked by offensive struggles and a significant time of possession disadvantage, has cast a shadow over the team's aspirations.

Herbert was critical of the offense's performance, pointing to a lack of execution, penalties, struggles in the red zone, and inefficiency on third downs. "We just didn't execute," Herbert stated after the game. "It's on us as an offense to not have penalties, we gotta score points in the red zone, we didn't execute on third downs, and we didn't move the ball like we needed to."

When questioned about an interception, Herbert acknowledged the Cardinals' defense played well but reiterated that the onus is on the Chargers' offense to perform better. "Yeah they played well, but it's on us to play better. It's on us to go score points, to make sure we're doing everything we can on third down and in the red zone. You know, we didn't play the way we wanted to, and we're going to have to watch film and get better from it."

The Chargers' offensive line play has been a persistent concern, with Herbert being sacked 241 times in 99 career games. For context, this figure already surpasses the 185 sacks Andrew Luck sustained in 94 career games before his early retirement due to physical toll. The offensive line's struggles were evident in the game against Arizona, where a play involving three blockers against one defender still resulted in a sack.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged that the team made "preseason-type of mistakes" and expressed a wish they had played their starters more in the preseason. The loss to the Cardinals, who entered the season after a 3-14 record, highlights immediate challenges for the Chargers. Arizona controlled the game with 393 total yards to Los Angeles's 268 and dominated time of possession.

Despite Herbert's talent, the team's offensive output in the previous season was 368 points, significantly trailing league leaders. The addition of former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to run the offense was intended to address these issues, but the season opener did not demonstrate immediate success for the new scheme. The Chargers finished 11-6 in the prior two seasons under Harbaugh, reaching the Wild Card round each time but failing to advance.