Steve Young Breaks Down Justin Herbert’s Elite Throw vs Broncos & Names QBs Who Could Replicate It

The Denver Broncos‘ defense seemed legit on Sunday. They pummelled and pressured Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert to the point where their winning streak looked ready to snap. At this point, we know that it didn’t. Herbert made the plays when it mattered the most, rallying them in the fourth quarter to a 23-20 win over the Broncos.   

“Physically, what you have to be able to do, the strength to climb the pocket to be mobile enough to find the space,” former QB Steve Young said on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday. “I thought for a second [Herbert] might throw it left-handed. That’s how good he is.

“He did grab it with his right going left and across his body… First of all, just take it from an artistic perspective. If you’re just an appreciator of the throwing motion as an art form, Justin Herbert is the Mona Lisa, right?” 

The turning point came when the Chargers couldn’t keep up with their 10-0 lead as Denver rallied with under two minutes left to play in the first half. The latter responded with a 20-3 run over the next quarter-plus of action. In the fourth quarter, a 12-yard Bo Nix scramble came up just short of a first down, and the Broncos punted back to the Chargers with 6:05 remaining. Then came what Next Gen Stats deemed Herbert’s most improbable completion since Week 8 of last season, a completion probability of just 16.7% at that. 

Herbert committed to a near-perfect 76-yard touchdown drive, completing 4-of-5 passes, evading a would-be sack by Zach Allen along the way to dart a 20-yard touchdown pass to WR Keenan Allen in a tight window. That touchdown and kicker Cameron Dicker’s extra point levelled the game at 20-20.

So far this season, if we have learned anything, it is that no lead is safe this year. The Rams vs. Eagles, Ravens vs. Bills, and Vikings vs. Bears games are proof enough. This game was no different either, with Herbert pulling off something really special that led Young, like many others in the past, to believe that his football IQ and arm talent are comparable to Andrew Luck’s. Whether other QBs in the league could replicate Herbert’s elite game, Young names four of them.

The names are Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and a “maybe” Joe Burrow. That’s when host Dan Patrick tossed Aaron Rodgers’ name into the mix. Young responded, “A little younger Aaron, maybe.”

Young was onto something. Here’s why:

• As per ‘Opta Analyst’, Mahomes attempted 185 passes last season while under pressure, and Burrow did as many as 180. Their names appeared under the top 5 QBs who attempted the most passes under duress.
• As for Allen, he was deemed the only QB to have a throwing rate of above 76% while also averaging more than 11 air yards per attempt last season. The website ranked him second in aggressiveness under pressure, averaging 13.09 air yards per attempt during such situations.
• ‘Opta Analyst’ also shared that Lamar Jackson recorded an average release time of 3.82 seconds under pressure, owing to his athleticism and escaping sacks.

Herbert led the Chargers to take a stranglehold of the AFC West after defeating each of their division opponents in their first three games for the first time since 2002. If he continues to make such plays throughout the season, Week 3 will be remembered as the moment when the switch flipped.