An OutKick column published Oct. 14, 2026, discussed Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s reported performance through the first five games of the NFL season and made an unsubstantiated suggestion that his fiancée, singer Madison Beer, could be related to his struggles.
The column reported Herbert had a 70.2 passer rating and completed fewer than 60% of his passes through five weeks. It contrasted those figures with career marks the article described as never having fallen below a 93.2 passer rating or a 65% completion rate. The source provided no independent statistical documentation or explanation for the decline.
The writer cited former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson’s reaction to seeing Beer’s appearance during a conversation with Shannon Sharpe. Johnson’s remark was framed as a joke. The column’s author then speculated that Herbert was distracted, while acknowledging that a body-language expert previously consulted by the writer had viewed interactions between the couple at training camp positively. No evidence in the supplied material connects Beer to Herbert’s on-field performance.
The column also included reader-submitted accounts about golf handicaps and etiquette, a boat reportedly running aground near the Ohio-Michigan border, and one reader’s criticism of a Hooters restaurant’s food. Those anecdotes were presented as personal accounts, not independently verified findings.
The piece is a sports-and-lifestyle column rather than a report of a confirmed development. Its comments about Beer’s influence on Herbert are speculation, not established fact.
