J.K. Dobbins: Start the MVP talks for Justin Herbert

Thoughts of past failures may have been in the mind of Chargers fans when the team blew a 27-6 lead in the second half of Sunday night’s game against the Bengals, but the end result was different this time around.

The Bengals tied the game in the fourth quarter, but they could not pull ahead and they punted the ball back to the Chargers with under a minute left to play. It took three plays for quarterback Justin Herbert to move them into range for a game-winning field goal.

Herbert hit Ladd McConkey with two passes that picked up 56 yards and left the Chargers on the Bengals’ 29-yard-line. Running back J.K. Dobbins took care of the remaining yardage for a game-winning touchdown and then paid tribute to Herbert, who finished with 297 passing yards and a team-high 65 rushing yards, when the game was done.

“Start the MVP talks,” Dobbins said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN.com.

Herbert may not be in position for that award yet, but a few more nights like Sunday will put him firmly in the running for that award because the Chargers will be among the contenders for the AFC title. That’s a big change from last year and the Chargers hope it is a lasting one.