Justin Herbert goes from efficient to ineffective after helmet hit derails momentum

A night that started with surgical precision by Justin Herbert ended in a familiar way for the Chargers.

A M-A-S-H unit.

Heading into a pivotal, prime-time road game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Chargers were missing their two starting offensive tackles and their two top receivers. Still, they hung tough for most of the game before surrendering the lead in the fourth quarter and losing, 22-16.

Herbert, who left the game briefly at the end of the first half to be evaluated for a concussion, was terse in his assessment of the performance as he gripped the sides of the postgame lectern.

“We just didn’t execute,” he said, clenching his jaw.

That wasn’t the case on the opening drive, when Herbert was mercilessly efficient in carving through San Francisco’s defense on a seven-play, 75-yard march that was capped by a 32-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Carter.

Herbert threw for 161 yards in the first two quarters and headed to the locker room with a prodigious passer rating of 105.5.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is hit by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Herbert had to leave the game temporarily to be checked for a concussion.

(Jed Jacobsohn / Associated Press)

The real concern was a helmet-to-helmet hit he absorbed near the end of the first half, one that led to the ejection of San Francisco linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

“I was scrambling, got hit and the next play they told me I had to go out,” said Herbert, who was examined in the sideline concussion tent.

“I felt normal after the hit.”

There was no such efficiency in the second half, when the Chargers failed to generate much offense. They had 35 yards passing after halftime.

Actually, considering the young and inexperienced cast of Chargers on the field, the team held up remarkably well against one of the NFC’s hottest teams.

Former New Orleans coach Sean Payton, for one, thinks the 49ers will wind up winning the NFC, especially with the addition of running back Christian McCaffrey. But even with the return of Deebo Samuel on Sunday night, and after a week off to recuperate, San Francisco didn’t take its first lead until McCaffrey’s two-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

By that point, the Chargers’ offense was running on fumes and couldn’t get out of the shadow of its own end zone.

The visitors found no pyrrhic victory in that.

“We’ve got guys who’ve got to step up,” running back Austin Ekeler said. “I don’t care who’s out there. If you’re on the field, you’re getting paid to play. You’ve got to step up.”

The Chargers were shut out in the second half, an ominous reality heading into their Week 11 home game Sunday night against Kansas City.