It has been a brutal start to the season for the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite all the hype around new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel elevating the team to the next level, they sit at 0-4 with their playoff aspirations up in smoke.
For former Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton, though, a majority of the blame falls directly on Justin Herbert, as he believes the quarterback hasn't done his part in elevating the team so far this season.
After back-to-back 26-14 losses to the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders to start the season, the Chargers just haven't recovered. Despite forcing five turnovers on the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, they couldn't capitalize.
Now, after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4, Herbert's 61.4 PFN Quarterback Impact Metric ranks dead last with 816 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions to his name. As a result, Newton believes he is the main culprit for their failures this season.
"We need to have a case study out for him. Maybe he needs to put his hind parts on the bench," Newton suggested on his "4th & 1" podcast . "Justin is the reason why the Los Angeles Chargers are losing."
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON: PFN's Free NFL Playoff Predictor
Diving into the stats, he pointed out, "His passer rating is 70. Completion percentage 59%. His QBR is amongst the worst of all quarterbacks, at 27. Franchise quarterback with a huge contract, and you're winless."
Newton believes the one option that the Chargers could explore would be to bench Herbert, at least for the time being. Pointing to other stars who benefitted from a demotion to the bench, his opinion is that a spell out of the firing line could be the spark he needs.
"When we tried this science project out by putting a franchise quarterback on the bench, supposedly, we see that now triggers good play from the quarterback. We've seen it with Bryce Young."
SET YOUR LINEUPS: PFN's Free Fantasy Start/Sit Optimizer
Going a step further, he made it clear he believes the massive contract from Herbert demands he give the Chargers better production than he has given them so far this year, claiming, "The way that contract is set up, you're supposed to be the common denominator. You're supposed to be the reason why we win games, but you're the reason why we out of games."
For the Panthers legend, the solution for Herbert is to go through a complete reset. Rather than a small change or two, he wants to see major adjustments from the veteran quarterback.
"This is why you pay him the big bucks to be the difference maker. Well, we need a difference made, right? Justin Herbert ain't getting the job done. He needs to control + alt + delete and start all over, and reboot the whole system."
As things stand, head coach Jim Harbaugh has made it clear that Mike McDaniel's job is not in jeopardy, and his faith in Herbert is unmoved and unshaken. A few more blows on the record, however, could lead to a change of tune.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
