KC Chiefs might have to deal with Justin Herbert for a long time

Justin Herbert made his NFL debut for the Chargers on Sunday and played great against the KC Chiefs. He could become an annoying player for this team for a long time to come.

Okay look. It’s only 1 game, I get that.

At the same time, however, remember how excited Kansas City Chiefs fans were when Patrick Mahomes played well in his NFL debut? Chargers fans have every right to be excited about Justin Herbert and the 6th overall pick showed why he was selected so high with how well he played on Sunday.

It was shocking to even see Herbert out on the field at kickoff, as the Chiefs were expecting to be going up against Tyrod Taylor, but a pre-game injury sidelined him and forced Herbert into the starting role. It’s unlikely he relinquishes the job after how well he played on Sunday.

Justin Herbert had the KC Chiefs on the ropes for the majority of the game.

Herbert impressed right away, leading the Chargers offense down the field and finishing off the drive with a 4-yard run into the end zone. He finished his NFL debut going 22 of 33 for 311 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception while getting sacked twice.

Yes, Herbert made some rookie mistakes, but he was much better than Tyrod Taylor was and with him playing so well in his debut, the Chargers would be crazy not to continue starting him. He proved he’s ready to handle the pressure.

The AFC West is full of young quarterbacks with 3 of the 4 being drafted by their respective teams in the last 3 years (Patrick Mahomes in 2017, Drew Lock in 2019, and Justin Herbert in 2020) and even Derek Carr of the Raiders is 29 years old (he’ll turn 30 in March). This is going to make it a fun division to keep an eye on in the next few years even if the Chiefs will be the natural frontrunners.

With Herbert taking over, the Chargers are going to be legitimate threats to make the postseason this year, especially with the playoffs expanding. Herbert outplayed Mahomes throughout much of the game, but at the end of the day, all that matters is who wins the ball game and Mahomes can say “Scoreboard” to that.

Still, Chiefs fans didn’t love seeing Justin Herbert go out there and prove to be worthy of the 6th overall pick. It’s possible the Chargers went from 1 first round quarterback who was there for over a decade to another who, if 1 game is any indicator, could do the very same thing.

It’s only 1 game, but Chargers fans have to be elated at what they saw on Sunday.