Analysts debate Justin Herbert vs. Tua Tagovailoa

Calling the decision “simple,” Acho reasoned that Tagovailoa “has 17 wins and nine losses in his career. Justin Herbert, 19 wins and 20 losses. He’s a losing quarterback.” 

In his argument, he also mentioned that Tagovailoa has thrown six touchdowns in a game while Herbert has not. He also lamented Herbert’s interception total.

The stat sheet must have cut off the part that says Herbert has nine games with three or four touchdowns and no interceptions while Tagovailoa has none.

ESPN’s Mina Kimes and The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz both chimed in, shutting down Acho’s argument. 

For their careers, Herbert (66.2 percent) and Tagovailoa (66.4) are completing passes at nearly the same rate. Herbert has more than doubled Tagovailoa’s number of touchdowns (81 to 36) while throwing 11 more interceptions (29 to 18). Herbert also has played in 39 games thus far, starting all of them, while Tagovailoa has played in 28 contests, starting 26 of them.

The two have been connected at the hip since they were drafted back-to-back in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa at No. 5, and the Chargers selected Herbert at No. 6. During their first two years, the jury was leaning toward Herbert being unanimously viewed as the better QB. 

Despite Tagovailoa’s better record, the two have the same amount of playoff appearances (zero). It would be difficult to argue Tagovailoa hasn’t been the better quarterback this year — his passer rating and QBR are both higher than Herbert’s — but with Herbert suffering through a rib injury that CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr describes as one that “can last several weeks to several months,” an argument suggesting Tagovailoa is better than Herbert feels like kicking someone while he’s down.

What’s lost in the debate is both QBs have been strong enough that they look like they can lead their franchises for years to come. That’s fantastic news for the Chargers and Dolphins but bad news for those who thought this debate was over.