Classic Chargers ⚡
Who’s got it better than those guys who were on that elevator? – Jim Harbaugh
The Los Angeles Chargers have become so synonymous with improbable failure that they have their own brand called ‘Chargering’ to describe when you see them do something ridiculous.
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Over the weekend, the Chargers made NFL news as only they can when about a dozen players, including star quarterback Justin Herbert, were stuck in a hotel elevator for about two hours in Dallas, Texas on Friday evening before their preseason finale against the Cowboys.
With the help of firefighters, the trapped players had to crawl through a ceiling panel to escape the stuck elevator.
OH NO! Several Chargers players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, and other members of the traveling party crawled through a ceiling panel to escape a stuck hotel elevator in Dallas. https://t.co/54SqZthLMJ pic.twitter.com/FWX8RGwi63
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 25, 2024
You can move the team from San Diego to Los Angeles with a new stadium. You can give them a new, talented quarterback in Herbert. You can run through a list of seemingly qualified head coaches.
But the Chargering just keeps coming.
Things will hopefully be different this year under successful coach Jim Harbaugh, who took time to dodge questions about the Michigan sign-stealing scandal to drop some quotes about the elevator incident that sounded like The Onion wrote them.
But they’re real and they’re spectacular.
Harbaugh Pumps Up Herbert’s Leadership
Coach Harbaugh admits he just missed being on that elevator, but he wishes he was as it was a shared bonding experience for the players.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh on hotel elevator incident: “We dodged a bullet…It was a shared experience, 11 or 12 of our players were there for about two hours. It brought them closer together. I just missed out on being out on the elevator. I wish I could’ve been there with those… pic.twitter.com/JcijcOCuSQ
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) August 24, 2024
Harbaugh praised Herbert for his leadership during the ordeal. “He was a rock,” Harbaugh said before noting how people came off the elevator very sweaty and some were shirtless.
But not the cool and calm Herbert, as Harbaugh put it with the grace of unintentional comedy:
“Justin Herbert, his hair was a little wet, but his shirt was completely dry. That’s another thing that blew me away. The guy is just a beast. I mean, yeah, who’s got it better than those guys who were on that elevator?”
Did he really say that, or did I just make a joke using the “who’s got it better than us?” Harbaugh catchphrase? Well, until AI distorts reality forever to spread NFL rumors, the truth is in the video. Harbaugh really said it:
15 members of Chargers’ traveling party had to be rescued through the ceiling panel from an elevator in a Dallas hotel. https://t.co/nEkm59KJFg pic.twitter.com/2qEo8kPy5B
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 24, 2024
Herbert did not play in the preseason finale, but we’ll see if his elevator leadership can carry over to the real NFL games.
Big Expectations for 2024
Justin Herbert’s stats have been among the best in the league since 2020, but the same cannot be said for his teammates. The Chargers have high expectations for Harbaugh to right the ship and build a competent, complete team around the talented Herbert, who has yet to enjoy an above-average defense or consistent running game.
The Chargers finished the 2024 preseason getting out gained by an average of 152 yards per game, the worst in the NFL, but we know better than to overreact to preseason stats.
It should be fun to see how Herbert deals with expected changes to the offense under Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman. The likes of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler are all gone. We haven’t seen much this preseason from rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
Elite galaxy brain stuff from Harbaugh here 🥴
“Just missed it. Wish I was there.”
“Who’s got it better than those guys stuck in that elevator?”
What planet is this dude from? 😂 https://t.co/S0Muivf7x2 pic.twitter.com/kQpES1lYIX
— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) August 25, 2024
But Harbaugh has had success everywhere he’s gone. If he can lift the Chargers out of last place the way those players pulled themselves out of the elevator, we might have a real race in the AFC West again with the Chiefs and Chargers.
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