Harbaugh's Herbert GOAT call haunts 0-5 Chargers

The game swung in the 4th quarter. The Chargers had it tied 17-17 and were driving when the ball came loose and Denver came out of the pile with it.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

The foot fumble!

That was D.J. Jones forcing a Herbert fumble on the drive right after Harbaugh went for it on 4th down from his own 41 and Herbert got stuffed on a sneak. Denver turned the fumble into a short field goal, Brandon Jones picked Herbert off on the next possession, and that was it. The Chargers had led 17-10 going into the 4th. Herbert has turned it over 9 times this season. Big Cat said what every Chargers fan watching was thinking.

Then the receipts came out. Before the season, Harbaugh sat down for The White House with Michael Irvin and said Herbert would go down as the greatest quarterback ever. He compared it to Babe Ruth calling his shot. With the team at 0-5, the clip comes off a lot worse.

Hank Lockwood

@hen_ease

t.co/J3gPwI6iry

To be fair to Harbaugh, it was a prediction about a whole career, not about 1 season. But Herbert has still never won a playoff game, and a coach calling his guy the best ever makes for a pretty rough split screen when that guy is fumbling a tied game away in October. Pardon My Take went straight to the memes and posted a viral clip of somebody falling down a flight of basement stairs, captioned as Herbert for the win.

Pardon My Take

@PardonMyTake

Justin Herbert for the win

This didn't start Sunday. The Wake Up Barstool crew has spent weeks trying to work out what's wrong in LA. The Chargers paired Harbaugh with Mike McDaniel and Herbert, and so far they can't hold a lead or protect the ball. The morning after Week 4, Brandon Walker said it plainly.

Wake Up Barstool

@wakeupbarstool

“We've all been waiting for Harbaugh to turn that thing around and get something out of Herbert. It just hasn't happened.” – Brandon Walker

0:41

It doesn't get easier. Next Sunday the Chargers go to Kansas City to play a rested Chiefs team. A loss there makes it 0-6, and Harbaugh's GOAT prediction will keep getting reposted every week until the Chargers win a game. Herbert has a long way to go before anyone takes that call seriously, and it starts with just taking the sack.