That adjective, “promising,” continued to be load-bearing on Sunday, as Herbert and his Chargers turned in an underwhelming performance in a 26-14 loss to the Raiders.
asserted
Herbert → continue → Raiders
Los Angeles are now 0-2 on the year, with those losses coming to the team that just picked No 1 in the draft and a moribund Arizona who picked No 3.
asserted
who → come → No
Stockholders in Herbert’s growth were taking a beating in after-hours trading.
asserted
Stockholders → take → trading
But, as ever, there’s plenty of reason to debate whether Herbert underachieved or whether his team let him down.
asserted
team → ’ → him
Herbert is 6ft 6in, can run, has a golden right arm and is capable of making astonishing throws.
asserted
Herbert → run → throws
NFL decision-makers view him as roughly the sixth-best QB in the league but also say things like, “He should have more accolades at this point.”
asserted
He → view → point
Certainly, he should have more wins this season, but on Sunday the 28-year-old found himself outdueled by one of the league’s senior citizens in Vegas quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is 10 years his senior.
asserted
who → have → Cousins
Herbert completed 15 of 27 passes for a touchdown and two interceptions, and he also took three sacks.
asserted
he → complete → sacks
Cousins threw a pick and took two sacks but was much more efficient from down to down (8.7 yards per attempt to Herbert’s 7.1), and the Chargers offense mostly sputtered.
asserted
offense → throw → 7.1
In 13 possessions, Los Angeles put together two long touchdown drives and otherwise didn’t march more than 30 yards in a series.
asserted
Angeles → put → series
It’s an eternal question, and one that came up after the Chargers’ playoff wildcard loss to the Patriots last season.
asserted
that → ’ → Patriots
In that game, Herbert played miserably but arguably had no chance not to be terrible, because the New England defenders were in his face all evening.
asserted
defenders → play → face
In almost any Herbert loss, one can easily find examples of his teammates letting him down.
asserted
teammates → find → him
Herbert wasn’t terrific by any means, and given his billing, he’d ideally be able to get over failures by his teammates.
asserted
he → give → teammates
But there’s not much the QB can do when tight end David Njoku bobbles a catch on an ever so slightly underthrown ball and turns it into an interception.
asserted
Njoku → ’ → interception
Or when an under-pressure Herbert throws a ball that either of two receivers could catch without a problem, but one cuts off the other and drops it.
uncertain
one → throw → it
Then there’s the injury luck – not so much to Herbert, who has generally been durable while playing through a number of injuries – but to those around him.
asserted
who → ’ → him
Every year, a key member of his line or receiving corps seems to go down with a season-ending injury, leaving him exposed or without a weapon to deploy against opposing defenses.
asserted
member → seem → defenses
There are also question marks over the coaches who have overseen his career.
asserted
who → be → career
Jim Harbaugh came to the Chargers with high expectations, but has yet to win a playoff game with the team, while Mike McDaniel, the team’s new offensive coordinator, has a reputation as a schematic whiz, but the Chargers offense has sputtered.
asserted
offense → come → whiz
Herbert, of course, must shoulder some of the blame himself.
asserted
Herbert → shoulder → blame
The Chargers have not done a good job of protecting him, but the very best quarterbacks find a way to win even when the pocket collapses.
asserted
pocket → do → way
He is also 0-3 in the playoffs – a small sample size, but it still raises question marks about how he performs against the very best teams.
asserted
he → raise → teams
A team that we expected to contend with the Chiefs and Broncos for the AFC West have already dug themselves a substantial hole, and they’ve done it while using up one of the easiest stretches of schedule that any team will face all year.
asserted
team → expect → that
To recover, they’ll need Herbert to be Superman.
asserted
Herbert → recover → ?
He has that gear, but consistency remains elusive, and the team’s margin for error is now awfully thin.
asserted
margin → have → error
According to ESPN’s QBR ratings, Purdy had one of the 10 best games by a quarterback since the rankings began in 2006 (in case you’re wondering, the best was from Carson Palmer in 2009).
uncertain
best → accord → 2009
Admittedly, Purdy was playing against the Dolphins on Sunday but he was superb: he completed 20 of his 22 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns.
asserted
he → play → yards
He was also his team’s leading rusher with 30 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
asserted
He → lead → carries
This came after another three-touchdown performance in the season opener against the No Sleep Till Melbourne Los Angeles Rams.
asserted
This → come → Rams
Most of us expected the Niners to settle for a wildcard place out of the stacked NFC West this season but at this rate they could take the division.
uncertain
they → expect → division
How many fewer points the Bears scored in their loss to the Vikings on Sunday, as compared to in their 59-37 romp over Carolina in Week 1.
asserted
Bears → score → Week
Chicago entered the week on as much of a spiritual high as the franchise has enjoyed in decades but ended it in a much more concerning place.
asserted
franchise → enter → place
Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores had Caleb Williams and the offense in a blender all afternoon, and then things got considerably worse in the fourth quarter.
asserted
things → have → quarter
That’s when Williams injured his hamstring, seriously enough that he wasn’t putting weight on his right leg as he walked off the field.
asserted
he → ’ → field
(Reporters did see him walking under his own power as he left the locker room later.)
asserted
he → see → room
Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he was “happy it’s nothing with the knee,” ruling out a torn ACL, and that the team would learn more on Monday.
asserted
team → say → Monday
The Steelers’ dreadful offense painted their masterpiece on a third-and-7 at the Patriots’ 22-yard line, in a game that CBS subject millions to as its national game of the week with Jim Nantz and JJ Watt in the booth.
asserted
CBS → paint → booth
Trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, Aaron Rodgers took a shotgun snap and quickly found himself in a New England situation, as his blockers let pass rushers converge from both his left and right.
asserted
rushers → trail → left
What followed was a circus.
asserted
followed → follow → ?
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
