Justin Herbert Receives Brutal QB Grade From Rough Performance in Week 5

The Los Angeles Chargers were unable to come out with a victory once again as they fell to the Denver Broncos in Week 5 by a score of 23-17. With the loss, the Chargers now sit at 0-5 and in a really bad spot when it comes to being competitive this season.

When looking at the performance overall, the Chargers definitely had some opportunities to win, but Justin Herbert did not perform well at the quarterback position, which was indicated by the quarterback grade that Herbert received from Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleski, who released his QB report cards for Week 5 of the 2026 season.

Now, looking at the quarterback report cards, Sobleski gave Herbert an F for his performance against the Broncos. 

Based on the statistical performance for Herbert in Week 5, it does make sense why Sobleski gave him a brutal grade, as Herbert finished the game completing 14 of his 24 attempts for 121 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a QBR of 26.6.

Additionally, Herbert fumbled the ball twice and lost one of those fumbles which set up the Broncos for points as well as being stuffed on a 4th and 1 which gave Denver a short field as well.

This really was a tough game for Herbert as he was unable to lead the offense down the field consistently which resulted in turnovers because Herbert ended up trying to force the issue and it did not work out for Los Angeles.

It is important to understand that this loss is not just on Herbert as the offensive line really struggled having to play four rookies which included Logan Taylor, Travis Burke, Jake Slaughter, and Alex Harkey and a veteran who has been struggling this season in the form of Cole Strange.

As a result of the shuffling on the offensive line, Herbert was under constant pressure on Sunday as he was sacked five times and hit a total of six times which really limited his ability to help this offense to be productive.

On the defensive side, the Chargers were solid all day, but unfortunately the short fields from turnovers and a bad play on special teams put the Broncos in a position to take advantage and score all the points they needed.

Heading into Week 6, head coach Jim Harbaugh has his hands full as this team will go on the road to face the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, which will be a very tough game and a far-from-ideal spot for Los Angeles to be in, sitting at 0-5.

Moving forward, Herbert has to play significantly better than he did this week and to do so he will need the offensive line to improve as well, but if Herbert and the offensive line continue to struggle, the Chargers will very likely continue to have limited success on the offensive end and could end up being one of the worst teams in the NFL at the conclusion of the 2026 season.