Chargers, Harbaugh frustrated by lack of calls for Herbert - ESPN

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that he and the team are frustrated by the lack of roughing-the-passer calls on Justin Herbert in recent weeks and have submitted plays to the NFL for clarification.

Harbaugh compared the hits to Herbert to how NBA players would foul Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal but he wouldn't receive calls because of his size.

«Does it sound like I'm complaining? Maybe? I could be,» Harbaugh said. «I think he doesn't get some of those calls when they should be called.»

No opponent has been flagged for roughing the passer on Herbert this season. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields leads the league with six such calls. Since Herbert entered the league in 2020, he has received the ninth-most roughing-the-passer penalties (13).

Herbert was sacked six times in Sunday's 27-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, all coming in the first half. Harbaugh said Herbert bouncing back from significant hits is «infectious» and energizes the team but that he should be receiving more calls. Harbaugh pointed to Herbert's 38-yard run against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, when safety Tyrann Mathieu hit Herbert at the end of the run, which Harbaugh thought qualified as a helmet-to-helmet penalty.

He also noted another play in that Saints game, a fourth-quarter sack on which Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee appeared to pull Herbert's facemask but it wasn't flagged. Harbaugh acknowledged he could understand referees missing that penalty because of the angle at which it happened but said that didn't make it any less frustrating.

«I've never seen him flinch one time, no matter what,» Harbaugh said. «He'll come back the next play like it didn't happen.»

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