West Coast Read: Jim Harbaugh Must Protect Justin Herbert — By Benching Him

SoFi Stadium (Inglewood) — Los Angeles Chargers president of business operations A.G. Spanos walked to the sprinter vans in the concourse at SoFi Stadium with a dour look on his face. A few minutes later, his younger brother, Chargers president of football operations John Spanos, headed to the vehicles with the same disgusted look. Inside the locker room, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh had a hushed conversation with his quarterback Justin Herbert — who earlier in the season he deemed would be the greatest quarterback ever in the NFL — before taking the podium and talking with reporters. The trendy pick by some NFL observers to win the Super Bowl before the season started, the Bolts suffered another loss over the weekend, this one a 24-9 beatdown to the crosstown Los Angeles Rams in the “Battle of LA” that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Chargers were expected to play better after the bye week. But at 0-7, they are on track for the worst season in franchise history after back-to-back 11-6 seasons brought optimism to the franchise that they were on track to compete for a Super Bowl. So much so that Harbaugh fired good friend Greg Roman and hired highly sought-after offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, tasked with taking his prized quarterback to the next level. Instead, Herbert’s play has cratered into one of the worst-performing quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the league with 10 interceptions in seven games and a career-low 69.3 passer rating. Only Deshaun Watson (33 sacks) has been sacked more than Herbert (23). Head-scratching and perplexed looks are standard fare in a losing locker room. But it’s different for a franchise that had grown accustomed to winning under Harbaugh. “Nobody has it better than us. Nobody,” had been a familiar refrain from the 62-year-old head coach. Unfortunately for the Chargers, everybody in the NFL has it better than them, as they are the only team in the league that has not earned a win so far this season. And there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight to the losing. Harbaugh once again reiterated he has no intention of firing McDaniel. I asked him if he considered benching the struggling Herbert, giving him a mental break so he can watch things for a bit from the sidelines. A terse “No” was the response. I asked Herbert the same question. “I don’t make that decision,” Herbert replied. “I do my best to play quarterback and be the best quarterback and leader that I can be for this team. And that’s all I’m focused on.” Harbaugh is in the third year of a five-year, $80 million deal to coach the Chargers, so he’s not going anywhere. Same with the 28-year-old Herbert, who has three years remaining on a five-year, $262.5 million deal. The most logical action is to move on from McDaniel and elevate either passing game specialist and former NFL offensive coordinator Adam Gase, or quarterbacks coach Shane Day. For now, the loyal Harbaugh has chosen to stay the course, keeping the staff the same and continuing to let McDaniel call the plays. But making no changes is a decision that could have long-term negative impacts for Herbert, making it harder for him to work his way out of the funk he’s in at quarterback. With the trade deadline in less than a week, teams will reach out to see if they can pry Herbert loose, hoping for a Matthew Stafford-like transformation wearing a new uniform. But the Chargers front office wisely will not let Herbert go. Instead, it’s up to Harbaugh to solve Herbert’s issues. He should start by handing Herbert a clipboard. With Trey Lance still on the injured list with a groin injury, the Chargers have D.J. Uiagalelei and practice squad journeyman Jake Browning as potential options to run the offense on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Harbaugh’s been there as a player. The worst season in franchise history for the Chargers? 1-15 in 2000. And who started at quarterback for five games that year? Jim Harbaugh. So, while Harbaugh says no one in the locker room has been through a situation like this, he can clearly go back down memory lane during his time replacing an ineffective Ryan Leaf. Players like rookie Akheem Mesidor say they are leaning on their past experiences to remain upbeat in a season where everything has gone wrong. Mesidor said he had a similar experience playing youth football in Canada as a linebacker, where his team didn’t win a game. “All you can control is your mindset,” Mesidor told me. “If you want to come into work mad and be upset, then that’s what you’re going to be and it’s not going to help anyone around you. Everybody has to do their part, come to work with a positive mindset and prepare for the next opponent.” Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack said his rookie season with the Oakland Raiders was a 3-13 season to forget. “You’ve got to keep grinding,” Mack said. “Ultimately, man, we’ve just got to play team ball on offense, defense and special teams. We’ve got to play a complete game. Together.” Harbaugh hasn’t forgotten how to coach. He’s yet to have a losing season in seven years of coaching in the NFL and another 16 in college. But dealing with a lost season, Harbaugh must keep the main thing the main thing. And that’s getting his franchise quarterback back to playing winning football. And for now, the best thing for Herbert could be a Sunday on the sideline with a ball cap on, eating sunflower seeds. Even before it was announced that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold would miss Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with a quad injury, we thought it might be time for the veteran to also get some time on the bench. Darnold’s season-long struggles continued in Monday’s 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears, completing just 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Yes, Darnold is dealing with a new offensive playcaller in offensive coordinator Brian Fleury. The Seahawks made wholesale changes up front with the Quenton Nelson trade, placing him at left guard, moving Grey Zabel to right guard and Anthony Bradford to the bench. The Seahawks were also without Charles Cross due to an ankle injury, with Josh Jones replacing him at left tackle. The Seahawks also just got running backs Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet from injury, and No. 2 receiver Rashid Shaheed missed Monday’s game with a knee issue. That said, Darnold has been abysmal after a sparkling postseason run that helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. Darnold ranks 26th in completion percentage (60.2), 28th in touchdown-to-interception ratio (10-9), and 26th in passer rating (79.5). And Darnold tops the league with 29 turnovers since the start of the 2025 season. Drew Lock has been nursing an elbow injury and serving as the emergency third quarterback on game day recently, with second-year pro Jalen Milroe the backup. But Lock will start against the Cardinals on Sunday, and he played well in place of an injured Darnold at the start of the year. He completed 70.2% of his passes for 422 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 127.3 passer rating, essentially playing the entirety of the Seahawks’ first two games. Yes, that’s a small sample size for Lock. But Lock can prove that his play to start the season wasn’t a fluke over the next two weeks, as Darnold is considered week-to-week. If Lock does that before Seattle’s Week 11 bye, then the Seahawks should strongly consider starting him over Darnold for the home stretch of the regular season Mansoor Delane, who was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in April’s draft, has been one of the most impressive rookie defensive players this season. With Trent McDuffie moving to the Los Angeles Rams via trade and teammate Jaylen Watson following him in free agency, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo needed an athletic body on the perimeter who would be a good fit for his press-man scheme. And so far, Delane has proved up to the task. Delane’s five pass breakups are tied for fifth among rookies. He struggled against Jaxson Smith-Njigba two weeks ago, but what cornerback in the NFL hasn’t? Delane has 27 combined tackles, including three tackles for loss, in five games. He has missed two games this season with a lingering shoulder injury. FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang told me he liked the 6-foot, 190-pound Delane’s ranginess as a press corner and ball-hawking skills. “It’s his instincts most of all,” Rang told me. “He’s very aware of routes developing around him. He’s a smooth athlete. He accelerates well, changes directions well and then the ball skills. He’s been a productive interceptor as well.” Delane finished his college career with eight career interceptions and 27 pass breakups. The Chiefs traded up with the Cleveland Browns to get Delane, giving up the ninth overall pick, along with third-round and fifth-round selections. Along with Delane, defensive linemen Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas, defensive back Jadon Canady, running back Emmett Johnson and receiver Cyrus Allen have all made impacts from this year’s rookie class for the Chiefs. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is the only player from this year’s class who has not played. “He was one of the cleaner cornerback prospects that we’ve seen in the last several years,” Rang told me. “Kansas City had one of the best drafts overall, but the crown jewel was Delane. I frankly loved the courage of [Chiefs general manager] Brett Veach to go up and get him. “You trade Trent McDuffie and you lose Jaylen Watson, so to just have the confidence in your own scheme and evaluation of a rookie that you can replace those two established NFL stars immediately, and I think that has justified their gamble.” The University of Washington product finished with 104 scrimmage yards and a touchdown as the main option out of the backfield for Denver in his team’s comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The effort was Coleman’s best performance as a pro, coming off his first game back after a high-ankle sprain forced him to miss four games. Broncos head coach Sean Payton wants to run the football. And Denver has been rumored to be one of the teams interested in trading for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. But if Coleman can stay healthy, he gives the Broncos a runner who can create big plays in the run and passing game. And along with Coleman, the Broncos have J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey filling out the running back room. Coleman played a season-high 63% of Denver’s offensive snaps in a Week 8 win over Kansas City. 5. Seattle Seahawks (4-4) Per Next Gen Stats, 48.8% of Darnold’s passing yards this year have come from throws to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, up from 44.3% last year. On throws to receivers other than Smith-Njigba, Darnold has completed 60% of his passes for 5.7 yards per attempt, with five touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 35.6% success rate. Last season on those same throws, Darnold completed 70.6% of his passes for 7.8 yards per attempt, with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, recording a 53.6% success rate. 4. Los Angeles Rams (4-4) Puka Nacua finished with 11 catches for 80 yards and a score in a win over the Bolts. It’s his second game with at least 10 receptions this season, tied for the most in the NFL. Nacua has 12 games with at least 10 receptions since entering the league in 2023, the second-most in the NFL over that span (Ja’Marr Chase, 14). Nacua (369) passed Robert Woods (367) for ninth on the franchise’s all-time receptions list. 3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) After a 5-0 start, the Chiefs have dropped two straight games on the road against two of the best defenses in the league: the Seahawks and the Broncos. Kenneth Walker III has cooled considerably after leading the league in rushing through the first five weeks. Walker has averaged 53 yards a contest over the last two games. 2. Denver Broncos (6-2) Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton leads the NFL with 101 tackles, the second player since 2000 with at least 100 tackles in their team’s first eight games of a season, joining Zaire Franklin (102 tackles in 2023 with Indianapolis). 1. San Francisco 49ers (6-1) Christian McCaffrey has 49 career games with at least 100 scrimmage yards and a scrimmage touchdown since entering the NFL in 2017. He has a rushing touchdown in six consecutive games, tied with Buffalo’s James Cook for the longest active streak in the NFL. “We’re still in identity-finding mode. We want to get this thing moving and grooving in a way that you guys have seen it before. We know how it’s supposed to look. Right now it does not feel how it’s supposed to look. We’re just going to go to work. Attack the process.” — Seahawks safety Julian Love on his team rebounding from a Week 8 loss to Chicago.