NFL has been more active in punishing players this season after it overhauled its rules and strictness to make the league much safer for the players. One such incident now has a Buffalo Bills player under scrutiny after he logged a foul on Los Angeles Chargers star quarterback Justin Herbert.
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Bills pass rusher Bradley Chubb was fined a hefty amount of $17,911, according to the NFL’s Football Operations and Accountability, for a late hit on Herbert in the first quarter of the Chargers’ 24-16 loss. The fine has been listed under the “hit on a quarterback” category, with no Chargers players being fined in the game.
The NFL and NFLPA have taken greater measures to ensure the safety of the players, and the fines are released by the NFL every Saturday. If Chubb were to commit the same offense for the second time, he would be fined $23,882.
But the 30-year-old pass rusher will be more than happy to take the fine, especially with his team winning the game and being 3-0 in the season going into Week 4. The one who has taken the short end of the stick is Justin Herbert, who has faced scrutiny as the Chargers had one of their worst outings since head coach Jim Harbaugh took charge of the team.
Herbert, who was once deemed the one who could throw any pass and considered one of the best quarterbacks, standing 6-foot-6 at 236 pounds, has failed miserably this season.
His completion percentage has hit a new low in the first three games of any season for him at 59.1%, while he has thrown four interceptions already, a career high for him at this stage of the season. Herbert also ranks 32nd in EPA on deep throws of 20-plus yards with minus-14 and 25th in quick-throw completion percentage (70 percent). He ranked 10th and seventh in those same categories last season, according to Noah Furtado of The Athletic.
The Chargers hired new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel to further enhance Herbert’s offense, giving him days off in the offseason to work on his footwork to really “own” the position. But that hasn’t clearly worked in the Chargers’ favor.
“It can be a lonely world as a starting quarterback that’s a franchise quarterback, when he has successive losses,” McDaniel said. “It can be lonely as a play caller, an offensive coordinator. And the only way to approach it is that you’re not alone.”
Harbaugh broke his pattern of not publicly criticizing his star quarterback, saying that Herbert, along with himself and the team, needed to “be better.” Those comments highlight the growing concern inside the organization as Los Angeles looks for answers heading into Week 4.
Can Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh Turn the Tide?
The Chargers are 0-3 going into Week 4, which is the first time since 2017 that they have lost the first three games. A little tidbit: the postseason. Coincidentally, the 1992 Chargers were one of them; they stunned the NFL and made history after going 0-4, finishing the season with the AFC West title and a 11-5 record.
Herbert & company would desperately want to come close to such an accolade, but are far from there for now. They rank 29th in scoring at 14.7 points per game, 21st in passing at 195.7 yards per game, and 21st in total offense at 308.7 yards per game. Amid these stats, Harbaugh thinks the team is “disciplined,” doing exactly what “they’ve been coached.”
Even with this discipline that Harbaugh has seen, the Chargers have a league-high 10 false-start penalties, with three against the Bills. The Chargers have actually been deteriorating in discipline, having the fewest penalties in 2024, ranking 13th in penalties in 2025, with this season being their worst so far.
But amid this, the players have shown hope that the team can bounce back, taking Herbert as their inspiration despite the setbacks this season.
“We all see how much work he puts in, and we see how much he has to handle. I know to have that much on your shoulders, all you want is for the guys to be where they need to be at the right time, every single time,” wide receiver Tre Harris said.
Will Herbert bring his team back on track? Or will this season be the end of his seven-year stint with the Chargers, as Fox Sports 1’s First Things First co-host Nick Wright has hinted at a potential trade of Herbert to the New York Jets?
The questions are all piling up, with the Chargers facing the defending champions, the Seattle Seahawks, next at Lumen Field.