Justin Herbert famously loves Subway subs. During his rookie season in 2020, the Chargers quarterback told GQ magazine he was “living off” the sandwiches, consuming both a Steak Philly sub and a Chicken & Bacon Ranch sub each night for dinner. He has since appeared in at least eight TV commercials for the restaurant franchise.
But the Chargers quarterback was making his own sandwiches Sunday — or at least that’s how it seemed to an opposing defender who picked off one of his passes that afternoon.
“He was throwing deli meat out there,” Rams safety Quentin Lake said this week on the “St. Brown Podcast,” apparently joining the current inclination of using sandwich-related metaphors to describe bad passes.
“Was he?” asked Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who co-hosts the podcast with his brother, former NFL receiver Equanimeous St. Brown.
“Bro, he’s seeing ghosts,” Lake told his former Mater Dei teammate as all three men started laughing.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but like we knew we were going to get a couple [interceptions], at least one,” Lake added.
The Rams snagged two during their 24-9 victory over the Chargers. Midway through the first quarter, Lake stepped in front of a pass intended for Charlie Kolar and returned it 45 yards to the Chargers’ 19-yard line, setting up a Rams field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie also got a pick in front of Kolar and returned it 26 yards to the Chargers’ 22-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with receiver Puka Nacua for an 18-yard touchdown and a 24-9 lead.
Herbert completed 24 of 32 passes for 257 yards with no touchdowns. His struggles under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels are seen as a large factor in the Chargers’ unexpected 0-7 record.
The seventh-year quarterback has thrown for five touchdowns and a league-high 10 interceptions this year, with at least one pick in each of this season’s seven games. In 2024, Herbert finished the 17-game season with 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
This week wasn’t the first time this season Herbert’s passes have been described like a lunchtime menu item.
On Sept. 27, after Herbert threw a floater to then-Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, former NFL quarterback and current Fox broadcaster Tom Brady offered this on-air analysis: “Poor awareness. Poor decision. Throws him a meatball sub.”
This season, random social media users have given other quarterbacks the Subway treatment, including New England’s Drake Maye, Denver’s Bo Nix, Cleveland’s Deshawn Watson and even Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, a two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion.
Herbert told reporters on Wednesday that he hadn’t “heard anything about” Lake’s comments.
“We’re really just focused on what’s going on in this building and playing football and doing what we can and doing our best to go put our best effort out on Sunday,” Herbert said. “That’s all that really matters. Anything outside of that is out of our control.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t agree with Lake’s assessment of Herbert’s performance on Sunday.
“I don’t see that,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, [but] it’s not what I see.”
He added that he thought Herbert “did his job exceptionally well” against the Rams, except for “two throws he would have liked to have back.”
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