Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers capped a successful regular season by earning a 34–20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18. Jim Harbaugh's team took a bit to wake up and was trailing 10–9 late in the second quarter when Herbert found DJ Chark for a touchdown pass. The first-year Chargers coach then decided to go for a two-point conversion to go up seven points and Herbert, yet again, delivered on that confidence by connecting with Ladd McConkey in the back of the end zone.
It was a nice throw but not really anything people brought into their work weeks to talk about around the water cooler. For Harbaugh, though, it was amazing.
He shared his thoughts on the toss during his media availability on Thursday, conjuring a comparison to one of the most iconic NFL plays ever—Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in what has been known as "The Catch" since the 1981 NFC championship game. According to Harbaugh, Herbert faced a higher degree of difficulty than what Montana had to negotiate.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh says Justin Herbert’s 2 point conversion to Ladd McConkey was a “higher degree of difficulty” than Joe Montana and Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” https://t.co/hAFboAiL2E pic.twitter.com/xnFZ1WmqwT
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) January 7, 2025
Every quarterback deserves a coach who will hype them up. But Harbaugh's claim may not hold up. The Catch is below for reference and Montana is backpedaling. Also these were slightly different situations with stakes that could not have had a larger gulf.
Joe Montana to Dwight Clark.
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) March 9, 2023
“The Catch” sent the @49ers to the Super Bowl in 1982 🙌
(via @NFLLegacy)pic.twitter.com/q0dKSXqZ4c
This is the type of stuff that can happen when one attacks the day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. It's a wonderful sentiment from a coaching perspective but now Harbaugh's rankings of historic NFL throws may not be gospel.
More of the Latest Around the NFL
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jim Harbaugh Compares Justin Herbert Pass to One of Most Famous in NFL History.