For years, Emmanuel Acho has been one of Justin Herbert’s harshest critics. From branding him a “social media quarterback” to declaring that “when you need [Herbert] the most, he gives you the least” after last year’s four-interception playoff collapse against the Houston Texans, Acho has rarely passed up the chance to highlight the QB’s supposed inability to deliver in defining moments.
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And more often than not, the analyst’s words have gone viral, especially when he framed the Chargers star as the most “overpraised quarterback in NFL history.”
But three weeks into the 2025 season, Herbert has forced the former Eagles linebacker into a change of tune. Not only has Herbert been productive, but he has also been clutch, consistently coming through when the game is on the line. And naturally, Acho is genuinely impressed.
Through three wins, Herbert has thrown for 860 yards, completing 66.7% of his passes with six touchdowns and just one interception. He opened the campaign in São Paulo with 318 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs, followed it up with 242 yards and two more scores in Vegas, and capped it off last week with a gutsy 300-yard outing versus the Broncos.
However, it was the Denver game that felt like a shift in the narrative. Down late, Herbert engineered a drive that ended with a jaw-dropping 20-yard touchdown to Keenan Allen with under three seconds left.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats [h/t Sports Illustrated], the play had just a 16.7% chance of completion, as Herbert threw across his body while absorbing a hit to the head, with Allen tightly covered. For many, that moment cemented what Acho finally admitted: Justin Herbert has arrived.
In a recent segment of Speakeasy, Emmanuel Acho even offered a heartfelt apology to the QB, while poking fun at his past takes.
“I’ve said a couple of things in my life that I regret… what I said to my parents, though mama always loves me… and what I said about Justin Herbert,” Acho confessed.
He then went all in with the praise that many Chargers fans had long waited for:
“Justin Herbert is clutch. Now he’s activated his clutch gene. Justin Herbert is a full-grown German Shepherd. Justin Herbert is a dog just looking for a bone. Week one, he found one in Brazil, then week two, he found one in Vegas, and then week three, he just now found one again. Justin Herbert has arrived, people. We used to applaud him for his talent. But now Justin Herbert got real game.”
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This was a striking change of tune from the analyst, but also one that’s felt earned. Herbert’s early-season success hasn’t just been about pretty throws or gaudy box scores … it’s also been about answering the very questions critics like Acho used to level against him.
For years, the knock on Herbert was that his numbers lacked meaning when it mattered most [0-2 in postseason]. But now with the Chargers unbeaten, his poise under pressure has silenced that refrain. And perhaps the most telling sign of his evolution is the fact that even Emmanuel Acho, once his loudest skeptic, has admitted defeat.
