It's Victory Monday in El Segundo.
The Chargers kicked off their season with a thrilling win over the AFC West rival Chiefs, one of the more headline-grabbing wins of the weekend.
Count Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer as one of the experts that came away impressed with Justin Herbert and the Bolts.
The team's victory was one of his key takeaways from the first weekend of games.
And the analyst believes the win is "worth the attention" because of the performance they were able to get from their star quarterback.
Breer wrote:
The Chargers' Friday night win over the Chiefs is worth your attention. And it's because, yes, it looks like Jim Harbaugh might be doing what he did with the University of San Diego, Stanford, the 49ers and Michigan. But coming out of the team's massive 27–21 win over the nine-time defending AFC West champions, more specifically, this is about the guy Harbaugh's been so openly smitten with since the minute he landed in Los Angeles 20 months ago.
Justin Herbert was damn near flawless in Brazil.
Herbert was stellar through the air in Brazil, completing 25 of 34 passes for 318 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, his first 300-yard, three-touchdown game since Week 10 of the 2023 season.
But just as important was the use of his legs, which became a major factor Friday night.
Get an inside look at the postgame celebration from the Bolts 27-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil! Presented by SoFi!
DL Teair Tart (90)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
DL Otito Ogbonnia (93) and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
DL Otito Ogbonnia (93) and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
LB Troy Dye (43), CB Benjamin St-Juste (24) and K Cameron Dicker (11)
LB Daiyan Henley (0)
LB Daiyan Henley (0) and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
LB Daiyan Henley (0) and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
RB Omarion Hampton (8)
LB Troy Dye (43) and DT Jamaree Caldwell (99)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
LB Troy Dye (43), DT Jamaree Caldwell (99) and WR Tre' Harris (9)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
WR Ladd McConkey (15) and Head Strength & Conditioning Devin Woodhouse
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
CB Nikko Reed (46), DT Jamaree Caldwell (99), LB Troy Dye (43) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
RB Omarion Hampton (8)
WR Quentin Johnston (1) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
OLB Tuli Tuipulotu (45)
OLB Tuli Tuipulotu (45) and OLB Caleb Murphy (50)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
Chris Hayre and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
DL Justin Eboigbe (92) and CB Tarheeb Still (29)
OLB Caleb Murphy (50)
LB Daiyan Henley (0)
TE Tyler Conklin (83)
CB Cam Hart (20)
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
OLB Tuli Tuipulotu (45)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
WR Ladd McConkey (15)
S Derwin James Jr. (3)
CB Cam Hart (20)
S Derwin James Jr. (3) and LB Denzel Perryman (6)
S Derwin James Jr. (3) and John Spanos
S Alohi Gilman (32)
WR Keenan Allen (13)
WR Keenan Allen (13)
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
TE Tyler Conklin (83)
LB Daiyan Henley (0)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and QB Justin Herbert (10)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84)
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84), QB Justin Herbert (10) and General Manager Joe Hortiz
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, QB Justin Herbert (10) and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and WR Quentin Johnston (1)
WR Quentin Johnston (1), QB Justin Herbert (10) and WR Keenan Allen (13)
WR Quentin Johnston (1), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and WR Keenan Allen (13)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, WR Quentin Johnston (1), WR Keenan Allen (13), DL Teair Tart (90), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
WR Quentin Johnston (1), WR Keenan Allen (13), DL Teair Tart (90), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
S Derwin James Jr. (3) and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
DL Teair Tart (90), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84), QB Justin Herbert (10) and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and George Gregory
S Derwin James Jr. (3), G Mekhi Becton (73), WR Keenan Allen (13), DL Teair Tart (90) and QB Justin Herbert (10)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and General Manager Joe Hortiz
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84), QB Justin Herbert (10) and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
LB Daiyan Henley (0), WR Keenan Allen (13) and DL Teair Tart (90)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
QB Justin Herbert (10)
WR Keenan Allen (13), Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (84) and DL Da'Shawn Hand (91)
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, S Derwin James Jr. (3) and DL Da'Shawn Hand (91)
WR Quentin Johnston (1) and S Derwin James Jr. (3)
CB Donte Jackson (26)
QB Justin Herbert (10) and CB Donte Jackson (26)
Herbert finished the game with 32 rushing yards, but none bigger than his 19-yard scramble to seal the game and the victory for the Bolts.
His legs became a factor early and often in Brazil, and Breer is excited about what it could mean for the Chargers offense in 2025.
Breer wrote:
Add to that Herbert as a passer—his rating was 131.7 against a really good Kansas City group—and it's easy to see why Harbaugh, Roman and everyone else in powder blue is really excited about their quarterback. Last year, Roman said, because of the injury, they basically had to treat September as a second training camp for the offense.
This year, they are hitting the ground running.
The Athletic's Mike Sando also came away encouraged with how Herbert looked like in this early version of the offense.
In his weekly ‘Pick Six’ column, Sando pointed out that the team was a lot more pass heavy, especially on earlier downs, which gave Herbert and the unit much success.
And it can only mean great things for Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and the group moving forward as evidenced by Friday night.
Sando wrote:
Friday night's game was part of growing evidence that Harbaugh and the only offensive coordinator he has ever had in the NFL, Greg Roman, are breaking from established run-oriented form, putting the ball in their quarterback's hands. Herbert, with 318 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs, seemed to be saying, "More, please." …
[Harbaugh's] overall philosophy obviously has not changed. But it's also true that Harbaugh has never had a quarterback in the NFL quite like Herbert.
