The Los Angeles Chargers are off to a 1-0 start, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil in a massive win for the team that could create momentum to build on for the rest of this season. Seriously, the importance of this victory cannot be overlooked.
The Chiefs have won the AFC West division title in each of the last nine seasons. They had also won the last seven meetings against the Chargers, dating back to September 2021. The Chargers outlasted the Chiefs on Friday night, winning 27-21, and the biggest reason why was the most important player on the team... Justin Herbert.
This wasn't one of those games where the defense carried Herbert to a win, or one where Herbert made a couple of plays while his rushing attack did the heavy lifting. No, this was a fabulous performance from the team's franchise leader.
Herbert completed 25-of-34 passes for 318 yards and threw three touchdown passes. He's had better statistical performances, but beating the Chiefs in Week 1 in a one-score game is not easy to do. In fact, the Chiefs had won an NFL record 17 one-score games in a row.
Jim Harbaugh will always look to pound the ball in the running game, but on this night, the team had a game plan prepared that saw Herbert dropping back to pass and being aggressive with his throws. He made some great reads with the ball and didn't make a bad throw all night while also not turning the ball over.
The Chiefs were still battling to get the ball back at the end of the game and they almost did. Pushing the Chargers into a tough 3rd-and-14 situation, Herbert came up with this play.
Chris Jones and Drue Tranquill getting into it after Justin Herbert's game-sealing run on 3rd-and-14 👀
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) September 6, 2025
pic.twitter.com/XFxQsdESYH
There was plenty of talk last season about how Herbert threw just three interceptions during the regular season. It was even mentioned during Friday night's broadcast. But the last time we saw him, he threw four interceptions in the team's playoff loss to the Houston Texans and there was immediate talk about whether or not he is capable of winning big games.
This was the ultimate response to that. To bounce back in this way, against the team that has represented the AFC in each of the last three Super Bowls, was fantastic. It's a long season, but the Chargers couldn't have asked for a more perfect start.
So, to answer the question in the headline, was this Herbert's best performance to date? It's extremely difficult, given the circumstances, to say it wasn't.
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