EL SEGUNDO, Calif. >> Justin Herbert was adamant throughout training camp that the Los Angeles Chargers offense would be a work in progress early in the season.

Since the bye week, though, the offense has begun to hit its stride and has started to resemble what Chargers fans have been used to seeing since Herbert was drafted sixth overall in 2020. A healthier Herbert and more practice time with his receivers have opened up the vertical passing game. Going into Sunday’s game at Cleveland, Herbert has 540 passing yards in the past three games on throws of 10 yards or more. Herbert is 22 of 36 on downfield passes since the Chargers’ Week 5 bye. That is quite a change from the first four games when he was 8 of 24.

“I don’t think people understand the extent of what he was dealing with physically in the beginning part of the year,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “So as he’s getting healthier, you can see what a difference it makes. Number two, I just think every week he’s got more and more comfortable and ownership of what we’re doing and understanding. The last couple of weeks, we’ve only scratched the surface.”

Herbert missed two weeks of training camp due to an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He then suffered a high right ankle sprain in a Week 2 win at Carolina, affecting his mobility in losses to Pittsburgh and Kansas City. The ankle injury also meant Herbert did not participate in full team drills for two weeks. Had this been Herbert’s second or third year in Roman’s offense, the time away might not have mattered as much. But with a new system and a relatively inexperienced cast of receivers, there was too much to make up quickly.