Is Madison Beer to blame for Justin Herbert’s slump? Why the engagement, the celebrity spotlight and the winless Chargers have fans arguing before the Week 9 game against the Texans

The Chargers are 0-7, Justin Herbert is completing fewer passes than at any point in his career, and part of the fan base has picked a culprit: his fiancée, Madison Beer. Nothing in the reporting backs that up. The couple announced their engagement on a Tuesday in late July, and the slump has played out in public since September. Los Angeles hosts the Texans in Week 9 on Sunday, still looking for a first win. The numbers point to problems that have little to do with Herbert's personal life.The Madison Beer theory and where it came fromIt is easy to see why it caught on. Madison Beer's year has been loud. Her album Locket arrived in January, a tour followed, and in late September she was announced as a Fortnite Icon Series collaboration. Herbert, meanwhile, introduced her to the world as his fiancée. Put a busy celebrity calendar next to a winless team and some people will connect the dots. Athletes' partners have taken this kind of heat for decades, usually with nothing behind it but a bad month.The timeline does not hold up, though. The two started dating in August 2025, and Herbert's 2025 season was a good one. He finished just inside the top 10 among quarterbacks in pass attempts, yards and touchdowns, and set career highs in carries and rushing yards. If a relationship was going to hurt his play, it took a full year to show up.No one with the team has been reported pointing that way either. After the Rams loss, a reporter asked Jim Harbaugh whether he had considered benching Herbert. The coach answered with one word: "No." He added that most players in the locker room had never been in this spot before.What Justin Herbert's numbers say about the slump?The Week 8 line is a decent snapshot. Herbert went 24 of 32 for 257 yards in a 24-9 loss to the Rams, with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble to his name. Through seven games he has a 5:10 touchdown to interception ratio and a 61.8 percent completion rate, a career low by a wide margin. He leads the league with 10 turnovers and has gone eight straight starts, playoffs included, without multiple total touchdowns.That run started before this season. A slump that long says something about the whole offense, and it puts coordinator Mike McDaniel in the frame. The Chargers declined to move on from him during the bye week. Even Herbert's best passing day of the year, a 75 percent completion rate, ended with two picks.The outside noise keeps growing. Hall of Famer Cris Carter wants the Chargers to trade Herbert while his value is still high. ESPN's Adam Schefter said the team would not consider it.Sunday gives Houston a look at a quarterback who has not thrown a touchdown pass in two straight games. If Herbert plays clean, the Beer talk will fade fast. If he does not, expect it to get louder, while the offensive line and the play sheet get less airtime.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.