In Jacksonville the Jaguars dumped Justin Herbert twice and scored four rushing touchdowns on their way to blowout 35-6 victory over the Chargers at EverBank Stadium.
The loss hit Los Angeles like a bolt from the blue, a game where they managed just 135 yards and eight first downs. Herbert, an NFL wizard in the pocket with 23,784 yards and 156 touchdowns in his first six seasons, suffered one of the worst games of his career, 10-18 passing for 81 yards, one interception and no touchdowns.
It got so bad that head coach Jim Harbaugh pulled him in the fourth quarter with 11 minutes to play, wanting to protect him for a better day. Trey Lance took over for a scoreless final two drives, sacked one more time.
Harbaugh said to the press, “We just weren’t doing anything well. Offensively, we weren’t running the ball well, we weren’t protecting, we weren’t getting open."
"Defensively, the same. We weren’t stopping the run. We’re losing coverage. I mean, go through every phase. We got beat every which way you care to get beat.”
Hey NFL, here is an idea… how about you let people tackle?
— Benchwarmer Sports (@bdubsports_) November 16, 2025
HOW IS THIS ROUGHING JUSTIN HERBERT? pic.twitter.com/8hyaEZmpwV
They'll attack next week with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, but right now the 7-4 Chargers look like a team that needs a break from their coach and each other. Fortunately they have a bye, not playing again until November 30 in SoFi Stadium against the last place Raiders.
Herbert gets a chance to heal after taking a league-worst 35 sacks behind his patchwork offensive line with his top two running backs out of the lineup. The bye might give him an opportunity to go home to Eugene for Thanksgiving, introduce girlfriend Madison Beer to the family. At least he'll get 14 days without any more blows to the head, perhaps an afternoon on the driving range.
The time off will do everybody good. Harbaugh can comb USFL film for a serviceable left tackle, if one exists.