For second time in three years against the Vikings defense, Justin Herbert had a stellar performance that culminated in one of the best PFF single-game grades of his career.
Despite throwing a pick, and
nearly one other, Herbert finished with 227 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 62 yards as he consistently gashed the defense whenever his receivers were covered.
It was also another banner day for Kimani Vidal who went over the century mark for the second time in the past three games.
Let’s go ahead and check these grades out.
Offense
Best (min. 20 snaps)
QB Justin Herbert – 93.6
RB Kimani Vidal – 79.7
WR Ladd McConkey – 74.7
TE Oronde Gadsden – 70.1
OT Joe Alt – 69.9
Herbert once again lit up the Vikings just like he did in their 2023 matchup. He was stellar and earned the only elite PFF grade on the Chargers offense.
Vidal enjoyed another 100-yard outing with a touchdown as he was leaned upon heavily for the final 30 minutes of the game. He broke off chunk run after chunk run that allowed Herbert to sit back and relax for most of home stretch.
Both McConkey and Gadsden caught touchdown passes and had strong outings. The future is very, very bright with these two!
Alt allowed zero pressure or sacks but somehow came in under 70.0. Not sure what he was dinged for but I likely wouldn’t agree with them if I knew!
Worst
C Bradley Bozeman – 42.6
OG/T Foster Sarell – 46.2
FB Scott Matlock – 48.4
TE/FB Tucker Fisk – 52.7
OG Zion Johnson – 54.0
Bozeman and Sarell were the weakest links up front on Thursday night. Sarell allowed a team-high seven pressures while Bozeman let up three. Zion Johnson’s 43.1 in pass blocking hurt his score the most (one sack allowed).
Defense
Best
CB Cam Hart – 92.4
EDGE Khalil Mack – 90.0
LB Denzel Perryman – 76.0
S R.J. Mickens – 75.1
CB Donte Jackson – 71.4
Hart quietly had a spectacular day while matched up with Vikings superstar wideout Justin Jefferson. He allowed two-of-five targets to be completed his way for only 12 yards. His 91.5 coverage grade was the best on the defense by over 16 points.
Mack looked as motivated as ever with another elite performance for himself. He had the team’s best run defense grade (74.9) and had all his grades at 71.6 or higher.
Perryman was solid in both run defense (68.1) and coverage (70.2).
Mickens earned his first professional interception and finished with the team’s best tackling grade (80.7) and the third best coverage grade (71.6).
Worst
DT Jamaree Caldwell – 51.8
CB Benjamin St-Juste – 52.0
LB Daiyan Henley – 59.4
LB Troy Dye – 59.5
CB Tarheeb Still – 62.0
It was a rough day of tackling for Caldwell who finished with a team-worst 22.5 in that category. He was also at the bottom among qualifying players with a run defense grade of 50.8.
St-Juste allowed six completions on eight targets for 56 yards. His coverage grade of 47.8 was second worst only to edge rusher Odafe Oweh. Still allowed all three targets his way to be completed but otherwise had a great day, including knocking down a Wentz pass on a blitz.
