In a must-win matchup, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers were not the team that they had been all season long. With a disaster of a performance, the former Oregon quarterback and the Chargers failed to take down the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card game.
Herbert threw four interceptions throughout the matchup, more than he had thrown throughout the entirety of the regular season (3). He connected with former Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey for just one touchdown and failed to bring his usual dual-threat abilities to the field.
Justin Herbert stats in AFC Wild Card game
- 14 completions on 32 attempts
- 242 passing yards
- 1 touchdown
- 4 interceptions
- 4 sacks for -31 yards
During the regular season, Herbert broke records and reached career milestones as he led the Chargers to an 11-6 overall record. With 3,870 passing yards, 23 touchdowns through the air, and just 3 interceptions, Herbert had looked almost unstoppable this year.
He also had 306 rushing yards on 61 carries for an additional 2 touchdowns during the regular season, while losing just one fumble throughout the year.
However, the Texans figured out how to get into Herbert's head and in front of his passes as the former Duck struggled to find his footing and couldn't seem to find his targets downfield after LA's first drive of the game.
It wasn't a flawless game for Houston by any means. Despite his 300-plus-yard performance, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked three times for a loss of 21 yards and threw an interception in the second quarter.
While an appearance in the Wild Card round during head coach Jim Harbaugh's first year with the Chargers is impressive, the performance by LA (and specifically by Herbert) was far from an ideal way to cap off the season.
Herbert is one of just 14 former Oregon football players in the NFL Playoffs this year. Not to mention, his LA teammate, Troy Dye, is also a fellow Duck. Fellow Oregon quarterback Bo Nix also led his teammate to a spot in the playoffs, the first rookie to do so with the Denver Broncos since legendary QB John Elway.