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Well, that didn’t go well. The Los Angeles Chargers were 2.5 point favorites for a road matchup against the Houston Texans. Rex Ryan suggested the game was essentially a bye week for the Chargers, who would easily roll the AFC South champs. But that’s why they play the games. Houston took Los Angeles behind the woodshed, beating down the Chargers 32-12 in the Wild Card round. Even worse than LA’s early playoff exit was quarterback Justin Herbert’s abomination of a game.
Herbert’s playoff performance against the Texans was the second worst by any quarterback in the last 10 seasons by EPA per pass play, according to the Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia on X. Herbert ranks 213 out of 214 quarterbacks in that span. The only passer who had a worst day in the last decade was Brian Hoyer, who “led” the Texans to a 30-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015.
That is… not good. Herbert was masterful at protecting the ball for the Chargers during the regular season, racking up 3,870 passing yards with 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions. But on Saturday afternoon in Houston, LA’s signal caller went 14/32 for 242 yards with one score and four interceptions.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers are one-and-done in the playoffs
Naturally, when any professional quarterback has an outing that horrific, some bad luck is involved. And that was the case for Herbert as multiple passes bounced off his intended targets and landed in the hands of Texans’ defenders. But Herbert looked lost against Houston’s defense, unable to move the ball consistently. After being gifted an atrocious turnover by C.J. Stroud in the second quarter, which set the Chargers up in Texans’ territory, Herbert didn’t just fail to capitalize, he threw a pick on the very next play.
The meltdown performance has been soundly roasted by fans, and deservedly so. Particularly after so many observers looked past Stroud and the Texans in the Wild Card round.
Herbert has put together a very impressive resume over his first five seasons in the league, including winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 and making the Pro Bowl in 2021. He even cracked 5,000 passing yards and threw 38 touchdowns in his second season.
Now paired with the well-respected Jim Harbaugh, fans can expect to see Herbert back in the playoffs soon, particularly after the team addresses some shortcomings on the roster. But a four-interception choke job in the Wild Card round is the kind of thing that can stick to a quarterback, if he doesn’t put up some big time stats to overshadow the disastrous showing.
