The Los Angeles Chargers needed Justin Herbert to get them out of a 0-5 start in Kansas City. Before halftime on Sunday, analyst and former NFL player Booger McFarland had already declared him broken.

The Kansas City Chiefs went on to win 22-6 at Arrowhead Stadium. That moved them to 5-0 and left the Chargers 0-6 and last in the AFC West heading into their bye. McFarland’s verdict became one side of an argument that outlasted the game over whether the problem is Herbert or the offense and coaching staff around him.

A Verdict on Justin Herbert Before Halftime

McFarland posted at 5:12 p.m. ET, less than an hour after kickoff. Kansas City finished the first half ahead 19-3 on two Kenneth Walker III touchdown runs and two Harrison Butker field goals. McFarland’s post read, in full, “Justin Herbert is broken.”

Former NFL safety Ryan Clark posted nearly the same words 15 seconds later, with one qualifier: “right now.”

The Chargers’ offense found little all afternoon. Los Angeles ran six more plays than Kansas City and was still outgained 422-259, averaging 4.1 yards per play and going 5-of-16 on third down.

It converted none of its three fourth-down tries and never reached the end zone on three red-zone trips. Its only points came on Cameron Dicker field goals of 23 and 30 yards.

The Chargers completed 22 of 37 passes, and Herbert was sacked four times for 18 yards. He also threw an interception that Jack Cochrane returned 48 yards, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith lost a fumble.

Quentin Johnston’s 57-yard catch, his only reception, was the longest gain by either offense. Walker finished with 128 yards on 19 carries.

Zach Borg, a sports reporter for Sioux Falls Live, posted about the Cochrane interception moments after McFarland. He wrote that it nearly went for a touchdown. He granted the protection problem, noting he had said before that “the guy is dealing with what amounts to a junior varsity OL,” then concluded, “You can’t excuse these throws.”

Herbert came into Sunday with five touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and the afternoon added only to the second number. After the final whistle, Ari Meirov, an NFL insider for The 33rd Team, posted where that leaves his season, with a “68.8 passer rating” and 21 sacks through six games.

The Case Against the People Around Herbert

Not everyone put it on the quarterback.

The pressure on the staff started before Sunday. Before kickoff, Yahoo Sports wrote that offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job was in danger.

At the time, the Chargers ranked 25th in total offense and 29th in passing. The same report noted that after the Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11, head coach Jim Harbaugh admitted he wasn’t sure what message would get his team out of its slow start.

The line Borg described played Sunday without offensive tackle Joe Alt and guard Kayode Awosika, who were both inactive, as was receiver Tre’ Harris.

The run game didn’t help much against a Kansas City defense that came into the week allowing the third-fewest rushing yards in the NFL. The Chargers managed 73 yards on 22 carries, and Herbert led them with 26 yards on five carries.

Others looked past the line to the coaching. Podcast host Steven Haglund, posting late in the game, called the Chargers “the worst coached offense in the league.”

He had company. One fan wrote that the front office had soul-searching to do and narrowed the blame to Herbert, McDaniel or Harbaugh. The fan picked McDaniel, reasoning that “it’d be odd that an athletic freak like Herbert just suddenly forgot how to play football.”

The Chargers are off in Week 7 and don’t play again until they face the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 1. Whether the fix starts with Herbert or with the people around him is the question McFarland’s four words left them with.