Chargers, Harbaugh frustrated by lack of calls for Herbert

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that he and the team are frustrated by the lack of roughing the passer calls on Justin Herbert in recent weeks and have submitted plays to the NFL for clarification.

Harbaugh compared the hits on Herbert to how NBA players would foul Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal, but he wouldn’t receive calls because of his size.

“Does it sound like I’m complaining? Maybe? I could be,” Harbaugh said. “I think he doesn’t get some of those calls when they should be called.”

No opponent has been flagged for roughing the passer on Herbert this season. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields leads the league with six such calls. Since Herbert entered the league in 2020, he has received the ninth-most roughing the passer penalties (13).

Herbert was sacked six times in Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, all coming in the first half. Harbaugh said Herbert bouncing back from significant hits is “infectious” and energizes the team but that he should be receiving more calls. Harbaugh pointed to Herbert’s 38-yard run against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, when safety Tyrann Mathieu hit Herbert at the end of the run, which Harbaugh thought qualified as a helmet-to-helmet penalty.

He also noted another play in that Saints game, a fourth-quarter sack on which Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee appeared to pull Herbert’s face mask but wasn’t flagged. Harbaugh acknowledged he could understand referees missing that penalty because of the angle at which it happened but said that didn’t make it any less frustrating.

“I’ve never seen him flinch one time, no matter what,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll come back the next play like it didn’t happen.”

Harbaugh also pointed to another play in Sunday’s win, when Herbert completed a 10-yard pass to Ladd McConkey in the second quarter and was driven into the ground just after he released the ball.

“It’s called most times, you know? Body weight on top of a quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “It’s incredible. It’s almost Shaq-like.”

The win over the Browns marked the sixth straight game the opponent sacked Herbert multiple times. The six sacks were the most in a game for Herbert in his career. He has been sacked 21 times this season, tied for the eighth most in the NFL. Harbaugh admitted that the amount of sacks Herbert has taken is concerning.

“I think about it probably more than I think about anything, and I think about a lot of things,” Harbaugh said. “His protection? His safety? There’s probably nothing I think about more than that.”

Herbert typically doesn’t complain about flags, and Harbaugh said a “lesser man” would, but he doesn’t expect Herbert to. Harbaugh, instead, does it for him. He said he yells toward the officials when he feels that they have missed penalties, though he is unsure whether they ever hear him.

“I do more than Justin does,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, I’m a lesser man. I’m not ashamed to admit that.”

Asked about the sacks following the Browns game, Herbert took account of his role in the sacks, saying that he could throw the ball quicker and have a better understanding of the protection.

“We knew they had a great rush, so it’s on me to be able to get the ball out and understand where our hots are, where our problems are,” he said. “So, I’ll have to take a look at it and keep moving forward.”