EL SEGUNDO — The play was designed for quarterback Justin Herbert to run around the right side of the Chargers’ formation on fourth-and-1 from the Tennessee Titans’ 4-yard line this past Sunday. The blocking broke down in front of Herbert, though, and so he was forced to improvise, to think on his feet.
No problem.
Herbert found a hole in the line to his left and darted through it, picking up the first down and then a touchdown for a 13-7 lead with 1:55 remaining in the first half. The Chargers were never seriously threatened and, soon enough, they secured a 27-17 victory over the Titans, their third consecutive win.
It wasn’t the first time Herbert created something from nothing this season and, mostly likely, it won’t be the last. For example, his 38-yard scramble down the right sideline in the closing minutes of the first quarter of the Chargers’ 26-8 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 27 stands out among all his runs.
After all, it was the longest run in his five-year NFL career and it ignited the Chargers’ offense, which had been pretty lackluster to that point in the game, late in the first quarter. The Chargers went on to assume control of the game in the quarters that followed.
Recent runs have been just as impactful, though.
Maybe even more so.
It’s been an unmistakable sign that Herbert’s sprained right ankle is sound again. He injured it during the Chargers’ victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 and aggravated it during their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Time, rest and treatment have allowed him to run freely again.
A versatile, mobile Herbert gives the Chargers more ways to inflict damage on opposing defenses and more reasons to believe they can be a playoff contender. The Chargers are 6-3, having won four of their past five games, going into Sunday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-6).
“I think you have to have a really, really good quarterback, a guy who knows how to win games in a lot of…
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