When Ronnie ‘Sunshine’ Bass, a California transfer, showed up in Coach Herman Boone’s integrated training camp in Remember the Titans, the team was already set at QB with Jerry ‘Rev’ Harris under center. However, even Coach Boone, played unforgettably by Denzel Washington, couldn’t deny that Bass looked and threw like the quintessential quarterback. And if there is any ‘Sunshine’ equivalent in the NFL right now, it’s Justin Herbert.
Advertisement
Just like Sunshine, Herbert can throw the ball a mile, towers over his teammates at 6’6″, and cuts a confident yet laidback figure that causes teammates to gravitate to him. Checking all of those QB boxes has led to a much more forgiving learning curve for the former first-round pick who has managed just a mediocre 46-41 career record regular season record to go with a couple of ghastly playoff performances.
Herbert even signed a record-breaking five-year, $262.5 million deal in 2023 that made him the highest-paid player in the league’s history. He had done this before he’d even won a playoff game. Only Sunshine!
Postseason success seems like it’s just over the horizon for Herbert and company, however. With the usual suspects in the AFC all dealing with issues this year, Herbert has seemingly grabbed his opportunity. When asked what’s different about Herbert this season, veteran WR Keenan Allen had a rather simple answer.
“Experience man. You can’t coach experience. Being able to see the defenses, seeing what teams are gonna do, seeing how he wants to play it, knowing how he wants to play it. Learning from the mistakes that he came from, and I think just being able to calm down and be in the moment and then go deliver,” Allen said.
Herbert started off the season with three straight divisional victories, including a thrilling win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil on opening Friday. The LA Chargers have since suffered a couple of head-scratching losses, but they got back on track with a big prime time win over the Vikings and Brian Flores’ enigmatic defensive scheme on TNF.
Allen also has a unique perspective on Herbert and his beloved Los Angeles Chargers. He was with Herbert for his first few years from 2020-2023, before leaving for a debacle of a season with the Bears in 2024 that had most thinking the wideout’s career was finished.
Instead, he returned home to the Chargers, rekindled his chemistry with Herbert immediately, and is now operating as L.A.’s WR1 for all intents and purposes. When asked why this isn’t the “same old Chargers”, Allen shouted himself out.
“Hmmm.. Because Keenan Allen’s baaaack! Ha ha! F*** you talking about!” he laughed.
And he’s honestly not wrong. Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, the Chargers’ top two wideouts last year, have both been outplayed by the elder statesman in the receiver room. Allen is currently leading the team in targets (70), receptions (48), and yards (479) at age 33. All of those marks are also top 10 in the entire NFL as well.
It seems to be no coincidence that Allen’s resurgent season is dovetailing with what certainly seems like a true breakout season for Herbert. After his big game on Thursday, Herbert became the first QB in the league to cross the 2,000-yard plateau (2,160) this season. If he can clean up the turnovers, Herbert could finally reach that potential which has kept him afloat in the NFL all these years.
