Harbaugh: Chargers OL needs to get Herbert more time on throws

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After the Los Angeles Chargers‘ 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, coach Jim Harbaugh said his coaching was a significant issue and respected the way the team fought, but he also pointed to the offensive line’s inability to protect quarterback Justin Herbert as an area of concern.

“We’ve got to get Justin another half-second, second, we really do,” he said. “I mean, he’s trying to get the ball out as fast as he possibly can, and he is. And like I said, some of those throws that he made, I mean I don’t have the adjective for it. It’s warrior-like; it’s everything within his human power, and then some, is the way I look at it. It’s incredible what he can do. We do need to get him more [time], just another second.”

Herbert came into Sunday’s game nursing a high right ankle sprain; he wore a brace and had heavy medical taping on his right foot. Along with the ankle injury, Herbert was playing behind a patchwork offensive line that was missing two of its best players in tackles Rashawn Slater (pectoral) and Joe Alt (MCL sprain).

Herbert’s injury and the reserve offensive line quickly became a recipe for disaster for the Chargers.

Herbert was sacked twice and pressured on 12 of his dropbacks. He was hit at the time of throw on four attempts, his most in a game in the past two seasons. That tension intensified in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs got pressure on Herbert on 6 of his 8 fourth-quarter dropbacks. He was 1-of-5 for 5 yards and sacked once on those plays.

The Chargers had nine penalties, including four false starts by the offensive line. Harbaugh said that was a coaching issue.

Herbert said he adjusted his snap cadence for this game in an attempt to neutralize the Chiefs’ defensive line. He said the “easy answer” would be to blame the errors on the reserve offensive line, but that they should have been better because they have practiced with his cadence. Herbert also added he could have communicated better at the line of scrimmage.

“We’ve got to stay patient. We’ve got to hold our water and understand that the cadence, we have to use that as a weapon,” Herbert said. “This front seven that we were going against, we felt like it was important to be able to hold them off, whether it’s switching up the cadence, different cadences, and unfortunately we had too many penalties.”

Herbert, typically reserved on the sidelines, was shown on the CBS broadcast slamming his helmet in frustration into the team’s bench.

“I wouldn’t consider that a highlight,” Herbert said. “Just the NFL. Part of the game. Emotion.”

As players exited the locker room after the loss, running back J.K. Dobbins sat at his locker with a towel over his head and his face in his palms. Dobbins finished with 14 carries for 32 yards and three catches for 30 yards but dropped a pass in the fourth quarter with the score tied 10-10.

Dobbins said he was the most frustrated he has been in his career. “I just hate losing,” he said. “I haven’t been in a place where I lost a lot, so I’m not used to it yet and I won’t get used to it.”

The Chargers have a bye in Week 5 and then play the Denver Broncos in Week 6.