Jim Harbaugh Has Always Defended Justin Herbert. Not This Time

When Justin Herbert threw an interception in Week 2, Jim Harbaugh blamed the receiver. When he was sacked in Week 1, Harbaugh said someone ran the wrong route. Last week he said he "wouldn't change a thing about Justin."

On Monday, a day after a 24-16 loss to Buffalo, Harbaugh finally aimed at his quarterback. "Be better. Be better," he said about Herbert's decisions. "And that drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike [McDaniel], the coordinator."

It's mild criticism by most coaches' standards. From Harbaugh, who has called Herbert the greatest quarterback of all time and once said he wished he could trade genes with him, it stands out.

Five takeaways, 14 offensive points

The Chargers' defense forced five turnovers Sunday. The offense still scored only 14 points. Herbert threw for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Bills defenders dropped two more of his passes. The one they caught, by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, was thrown almost right to him. On FOX, Tom Brady called it "a meatball sub."

It wasn't only Herbert. The Chargers had drops from Oronde Gadsden and Quentin Johnston, five offensive penalties in the third quarter and a missed Cameron Dicker field goal. But the offense was rebuilt this year around McDaniel's system of timing throws and wide zone runs, and Herbert looks uncomfortable in it, even though McDaniel said in camp he was further along than any quarterback he'd had in a first year in the system.

"We got to look at our scheme," Harbaugh said. "We got to look at how we're performing, how we're doing things and who's doing it."

The Chargers are 0-3. Their next game is Sunday at Seattle, 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, against a team that just had a 12-game winning streak end.