'J Herbo' has turned on the turbo: Herbert is having a career-best rushing season

LOS ANGELES -- Quentin Johnston was confused.

Ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers' 2025 preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, one in which none of the starters were playing, he watched as quarterback Justin Herbert sprinted back and forth 25 yards a few times, then took a brief break before repeating.

Eventually, Johnston realized that Herbert was doing the team's conditioning test, a rigorous running assessment players must pass at the start of training camp to prove they are in shape. As a part of that test, they run 150 yards six times, split into six 25-yard back-and-forth sprints, breaking for 40 seconds after each 150.

The amount of sets, reps and rest periods varies by position group, but it's a test that most players dread when they return for the beginning of football season. The fact that Herbert was willingly doing the conditioning test puzzled him.

"My first reaction was like 'His ass tripping,'" Johnston said with a laugh. "But if he like it, I love it. Just seeing that, I'm not surprised that he has been running the way he has."

Herbert has always been mobile -- he had the third-fastest 40-yard dash time of quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL combine at 4.68 seconds -- and he has made defenses who don't account for his running ability pay throughout his career. The Pittsburgh Steelers learned that in his second season, when Herbert rushed for a career-high 90 yards in the Chargers' 41-37 win.

But in his sixth season, Herbert has been running more often than ever -- partly because he doesn't have a choice.

He's averaging a career-high 26.6 rushing yards per game this season, 8.6 yards more than his second-highest season. Herbert's scrambling and running have been in response to an injury-laden offensive line that has been among the league's worst and forced him out of the pocket with pressure -- and a push from coaches to scramble as he sees fit.

"If I can go get a first [down] with my legs, I'm more than happy to go do that. That's when we're at our best when we're able to do everything," Herbert said. "Run game, pass game, play-action and quarterback scrambles and going to get first downs."

The Chargers will look to continue to lean on Herbert's mobility as they face the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

"We've emphasized using his legs, making more plays with his legs to help the team," quarterback coach Shane Day said. "But I think it's more just natural and just being aware of, 'Hey, if protection breaks down, we can still go make a play.'"

Day said Herbert told coaches he wanted to improve mobility and speed ahead of this season, and it showed in training camp. Coach Jim Harbaugh said Herbert's previous top speed during a practice was 20.7 mph, but he reached 21.6 in a practice this year. That speed was apparent in the Chargers' Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil.

On third-and-14 with 2:14 remaining, the Chargers were clinging to a 27-21 lead and on the precipice of an eighth straight loss to the Chiefs. But Herbert dropped back to pass, then scrambled for 19 yards and calmly slid for a first down while his teammates on the sideline went into a frenzy. Herbert's 19.82 speed on that run was his top speed on a scramble this season.

"That s--- was cool as hell," Johnston said with a smile.

Among quarterbacks with at least five scrambles, Herbert is first in the league in yards per scramble with 11.9, no other qualified quarterback has above 10 yards per scramble, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. This past season Herbert finished third in the league with 10.8 yards per scramble. While scrambling has always been part of his game, Herbert has often been forced to in 2025 because of how much he has been under pressure.

The Chargers' offensive line has been decimated by injury. Left tackle Rashawn Slater had a season-ending patellar tendon rupture in his left knee during training camp, tackle Joe Alt, who moved from right to left after Slater's injury, missed three games after exiting the first quarter of the Giants game in Week 4 with a high right ankle sprain. Right tackle Trey Pipkins III, who replaced Alt at right, has missed two games with a left knee injury. Guard Jamaree Salyer, who originally was supposed to be the team's swing tackle, also missed a game with a right knee injury.

These injuries have led the Chargers to have one of the league's worst offensive lines as of Week 7.

Defenses have pressured Herbert 135 times this season, with sixty of those pressures coming within 2.5 seconds of his dropback, both the most in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.

Against the Dolphins in Week 6, the Chargers started Austin Deculus at left tackle, who went into the game ranked last in the NFL in pass block win rate over the two weeks he played, and Bobby Hart at right tackle, who hadn't played an NFL regular-season snap since 2022. The following week, with that same offensive line, Herbert faced a career-high 57.4% pressure rate against the Colts, and was sacked three times.

Harbaugh has said the pressure and hits Herbert has been taking are "very concerning," but the problem has remained. Herbert's running has kept them afloat, and his offensive linemen say, has helped them during this injury-laden period.

"From a pass rush standpoint, when you have to respect the quarterback's mobility, it slows them down," center Bradley Bozeman said. "It makes them add an extra spy guy. Our receivers have better opportunities to go open, so it's another threat that brings to the passing game that he's had all his career, but this year especially."

Herbert's longest scrambles have often come at particularly opportune moments on third down.

On third-and-19, against the Giants in Week 4, Herbert sprinted 24 yards for a first down. The following week, against the Commanders with pressure from the edges engulfing him, Herbert sprinted up the middle of the field for 41 yards and a first down.

"It changes everything," offensive coordinator Greg Roman said.

Roman recalled how tough it was to stop the San Francisco 49ers when he was a defensive and offensive assistant with the Carolina Panthers from 1995 to 2001, because Steve Young could run for a first down even if they had perfect coverage. "Just the sinking feeling that would hit me. ... It always stuck with me about what a great equalizer that can be," Roman said.

The only issue some members of the coaching staff have with Herbert's scrambling is typically how it ends. Rather than sliding before contact, Herbert often looks to lower his shoulder and run a defender over with his 6-foot-6, 236-pound frame, taking hits that make his teammates and coaches wince. But Herbert's runs -- and hits -- "elevate the energy on the sidelines," Day said.

"I mean, he's just naturally a physical football player, so when a guy's coming, he's not going to go out of bounds," Day said with a laugh. "I don't like it at all. He never listens to me."

Day was Herbert's quarterback coach for the 2021 and 2022 seasons before he left to be the Houston Texans' senior offensive assistant in 2023, but then returned to L.A. with Harbaugh this past season. He said Herbert's discernment between when to run or pass is what makes him different from other players he has coached.

Day said that he and the offensive coaches cram a plan into Herbert's brain each week: What decisions to make if he sees a specific coverage, a defensive line shift or a defensive back's tendencies.

Herbert's response to the chaos on game day and his decisions -- like his tying touchdown to wide receiver Keenan Allen against the Denver Broncos or that run to seal the game against Kansas City -- Day said is where Herbert has evolved most.

"He just reacts and he's always right," Day said. "Whatever you take away, he goes to the other guy. ... It's a very unique skill to just be able to play football, go through your progressions and obviously just play the play. Whatever happens, he can find something."