Justin Herbert holds onto top-5 QB status to begin 2023 season

Justin Herbert may have had a down year in 2022 by his lofty standards, but that hasn’t stopped analysts from keeping him within the upper-echelon of NFL quarterbacks.

Even after a Week One performance that saw him throw for just 228 yards and touchdown, his elite resume up to this point can’t be forgotten.

In CBS Sports’ latest quarterback power rankings by analyst Cody Benjamin, he has Herbert as the number five quarterback in the NFL behind only Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, and Patrick Mahomes.

Here’ what’s he had to say about the team’s QB1:

His first outing under Kellen Moore didn’t have the same sizzle as that of, say, opposing QB Tua Tagovailoa. But he remains one of the game’s most reliable do-it-all throwers, keeping L.A. toe to toe with Miami even as his defense flailed.

I appreciate Benjamin being candid about Herbert’s performance on Sunday as there were far too many casual fans on social media criticizing his performance based solely on one game with zero context added in. Herbert did exactly what was asked him throughout the day to keep his team in the game while trading leads all afternoon. The Chargers rushed for 234 yards! Of course Herbert wasn’t going for 300 and three touchdowns.

Mahomes, Burrow, and Hurts also put on underwhelming performances in Week One so obviously this was not an isolated incident in Los Angeles. With a terrible Titans passing defense on the docket for this week, expect a classic Herbert outing on the road.

For those who haven’t caught the box scores, here’s how things went down for the other top-five quarterbacks in Week One:

• Patrick Mahomes - 21/39, 226 yards, two touchdowns
• Joe Burrow - 14/31, 89 yards
• Jalen Hurts - 22/33, 170 yards, one touchdown
• Trevor Lawrence - 24/32, 241 yards, two touchdowns