The Chargers — and their quarterback — are among the league's biggest talking points Monday morning.
The Bolts bested the Dolphins with a 23-17 win on Sunday Night Football in Week 14, a convincing victory that has the Chargers in a playoff spot at the moment.
Justin Herbert led the way against Miami, completing 39 of 51 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown in primetime.
The performance was more than enough to garner him an accolade, as he was among Peter King's Offensive Players of the Week in the columnist's weekly Football Morning in Americapiece.
King wrote:
"This is one of the great performances we've seen this year," Cris Collinsworth said late in Chargers 23, Dolphins 17. He said it about Herbert, who had his three-year-career high of 39 completions in 51 attempts, for 367 yards with a TD and no picks. He was brilliant, particularly on many late third downs—on the insurance field-goal drive, he threw for two needle-threading third-down conversions and ran for another. At 7-6, the Chargers don't have much margin for error in the playoff race. But Herbert's play, along with inspired play from a beleaguered defense, installed the Chargers as the seventh seed, temporarily, in the AFC playoff chase.
Herbert's play, combined with the Chargers best defensive effort of the season, helped the Bolts move to 7-6 with four games to go.
John Breech also handed out some praise for the Chargers, as he gave the team a 'B+ grade' for the Week 14 win.
Breech wrote:
Justin Herbert finally had his two best receiving weapons (Keenan Allen and Mike Williams) on the field at the same time and he definitely took advantage of that. With the Chargers (7-6) in dire need of a win, Herbert took over, completing 39 of 51 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown. Allen and Williams combined to catch 18 of those passes for 208 yards. The Chargers offense didn't light up the scoreboard, but it didn't have to thanks to a defense that held Miami to just 219 yards. A loss here would have been devastating for the Chargers' playoff chances, but Herbert was able to save their season with a wildly impressive performance.
Williams had six catches for 116 yards and a score, while Allen caught 12 passes for 92 yards.
The Chargers are at home again in Week 15 against the 7-6 Titans, who are currently leading the AFC South.
