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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has an abysmal record against Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. The Oregon product in 1-7 against the 29-year-old, and if Los Angeles want to challenge for a Super Bowl, the inability to beat the Chiefs needs to change.
The Chargers are opening the 2025 NFL season on Friday with an international game in Sao Paulo, Brazil. CBS Sports NFL analyst Leger Douzable is putting pressure on Herbert to snap this skid and get off on the right foot.
“If you’re Justin Herbert, you gotta be sick and tired of saying, ‘Patrick Mahomes is my daddy. He owns me,’” Douzable said on CBS Sports HQ. “That has to be ringing [in] his head every year, especially because it’s a divisional foe. Those are the games that you have to win. The easiest way to win the division is to win divisional games.
“So this is a big game in Week 1. Yes, it’s Week 1, but it’s a divisional game. And to your point, 1-7. That’s what you are versus Patrick Mahomes. That’s what your records say. That’s what your resume says. Only Justin Herbert can change that.”
Will Justin Herbert Have Help Against the Chiefs?
Although Herbert bears that 1-7 record against Mahomes, it’s not all on him. The NFL is a team sport after all. Nonetheless, the quarterback position gets all the praise when a team wins, but receives the most criticism when things go wrong.
In an article from NFL.com on July 27, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said he believes the team will only improve if Justin Herbert’s supporting cast steps up to match his level of play.
“This is the truth, Justin Herbert’s biggest weakness is all of those that he’s counting on on offense — coaches, offensive line, playmakers, receivers, running backs — to get up to his level,” Harbaugh said.
Can Chargers QB Justin Herbert Improve?
Last season, Justin Herbert finished with 3,870 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. Moreover, with this production from the Chargers star, Harbaugh is confident that more success can follow the team as he heads into Year 2 as the Los Angeles coach.
“Him and Greg Roman, they’re the architects of the offense, they know it best, and I think that’s going to pay good dividends for us,” Harbaugh said. “Everything we’re doing now we’re doing for a second time, and it’s clear and obvious that all of us, we’ve got to put the work in and get on his level.
“I want Justin to just be exactly who he is. How he is, he does everything at the highest level, he’s a tone-setter, he’s the example-setter.”
Herbert, having a successful 2025 season from a team perspective, will begin on Friday in Brazil. With a national audience watching, at some point, the Chargers quarterback has to outperform Mahomes and Co. and pull one over the reigning AFC West division winners.
If it’s the same old story with Mahomes securing the win, it will be a major setback for Los Angeles. Nonetheless, a victory over the Chiefs puts the Chargers in a potential driver’s seat to dethrone Kansas City’s reign over the division.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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