The Los Angeles Chargers have two preseason games to go, but their eyes are firmly set on their season-opening home game against the Arizona Cardinals.
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While preparations are in full swing for the Chargers, head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is entering his third season on the back of two identical 11-6 seasons, is particularly excited about what he’s been seeing from quarterback Justin Herbert, who will enter his seventh season as a Charger.
Herbert is coming off a season in which he went 11-5 as a starter in the regular season, one better than the team’s regular season showing. At 28, Herbert is maturing, and that’s what his head coach loves to see.
“Just keeps getting better,” Harbaugh said on the Pat McAfee Show when asked about how Herbert is coming along. “He’s in a great place in all ways. I mean, you mentioned it; there’s a tremendous balance that he has. He’s locked, cocked, ready to rock, and he’s in a great place.”
Harbaugh has always had words of praise for the Chargers’ No. 10, and Herbert’s last two seasons are proof of why Harbaugh has such faith.
In 2024-25, Herbert’s pass completion rate was 65.9% for 3870 yards with 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions. In 2025-26, his completion rate rose to 66.4%, as he threw for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns. Herbert also recorded a career-high 498 rushing yards last year.
Having earned his second Pro Bowl nod on the back of the remarkable 2025 season, it seems things can still get better for Herbert and the Chargers.
Ahead of this season, the Chargers made a change, bringing in Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator.
On the Pat McAfee Show, Harbaugh commented on the relationship he sees developing between the offensive coordinator and the quarterback.
“It’s a great fit,” said Harbaugh on the Herbert-McDaniel chemistry, “On every level, the way that they see the game, the way they communicate. Mutual respect would probably be the thing that sums it up best.”
With an injury to worry about, in the form of newly signed center Tyler Biadasz, coach Harbaugh will at least breathe easy, knowing that his offensive coordinator and quarterback are getting along like two peas in a pod.
Things are currently looking up for Herbert on all fronts. He and Madison Beer announced late in July that they are engaged. His contract will see him through till 2029, and not only does he have the full faith of his head coach, but he’s also got an offensive coordinator with whom he is on the same wavelength.
That said, Harbaugh’s comments carry weight given the Chargers’ trajectory under his reins. Los Angeles has reached the playoffs in each of his two seasons in charge, the franchise’s first back-to-back postseason appearances since 2008-09.
In 2025, the Chargers split their regular-season meetings with division-rival Denver, beating the Broncos early in the season before losing the Week 18 matchup that secured Denver the AFC West. But with Herbert now locked into a deal through 2029 and a retooled offense under new coordinator Mike McDaniel, both AFC West rivals and wider conference contenders have a real reason to see the Chargers as a rising threat heading into 2026.
The Chargers will now be hoping they can make it to their first Super Bowl since 1995. The Chargers know they can make it to the big games; now it’s about making the most of those opportunities in search of a maiden Super Bowl crown.