‘You’ve Gotta Carry Us’ — Greg Olsen Challenges Popular Narrative Around Justin Herbert Amid Chargers’ Struggles – USFTB

October 18, 2026 3 Min Read

The Los Angeles Chargers are 0-5 and heading into Sunday’s Week 6 matchup at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs. Justin Herbert has seven interceptions and a 70.2 passer rating through five games, and how Los Angeles should deploy him has become one of the more active debates around the team.

Herbert is five games into the 2026 season without a win while playing on the five-year, $262.5 million extension he signed in 2023, and the conversation has leaned toward taking things off his plate to help him find his footing. Fox Sports’ Greg Olsen stepped into that debate this week and took the opposite position.

Greg Olsen Believes Justin Herbert Needs to Be Carrying the Chargers

There has been discussion in Los Angeles about simplifying things for Herbert, giving him less to handle and letting the team around him pick up more of the load. Through five weeks, his numbers have not given the coaching staff much reason to lean on him more.

Herbert is carrying a $46.3 million cap hit in 2026, with an average salary of $52.5 million per year, one of the highest salaries in the league. Greg Olsen’s argument was built on that number and what it should mean for Harbaugh’s handling of the rest of the season.

Olsen laid out what he believes Jim Harbaugh’s response to the slump should look like and where he disagrees with the direction the conversation has gone: “I think right now if I’m Jim Harbaugh, I’m saying, ‘Listen, I know the talk is take everything off of Justin Herbert, too much of the game. I think it’s the opposite.'”

“I think I’m putting all my chips in, I’m putting everything on his back, and I’m saying you’re our franchise player, you’re our $50 million quarterback, you’ve got to carry us through this slump,” Olsen explained.

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He said whether the Chargers ultimately make the playoffs is beside the point, arguing that Herbert still has something to play for in how this season ends.

“Now whether you make the playoffs or not, it’s not even the point. Finish this season with a little pride, a little dignity, reset,” the analyst added.

The season has gone from difficult to worse for Herbert over the past five weeks. He threw for 209 yards and a touchdown in a 26-14 opening loss to Arizona in Week 1, then threw two interceptions in another 26-14 defeat at home against Las Vegas in Week 2. A 24-16 loss at Buffalo in Week 3 was followed by back-to-back Sunday defeats.

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Herbert was sacked four times at Seattle in Week 4 and five times at home against Denver in Week 5, finishing the Denver game with just 121 yards on 58.3% completion.

The pressure and the turnovers have fed each other throughout. Herbert has been sacked repeatedly and has not offset it with clean decisions, and the Chargers have not found a way to address either problem through the first stretch of the season.

According to PFN’s NFL QB Impact metric, Herbert is ranked 34th with a grade of 60.5 and 1,004th all-time, throwing for 937 yards and five touchdowns against seven interceptions while completing just 59.4% of his passes for the 0-5 Chargers.

Los Angeles faces the Kansas City Chiefs today at Arrowhead Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.