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After a highly successful season under new head coach Jim Harbaugh the Los Angeles Chargers fell apart in the playoffs. While the team finished an impressive 11-6, picking up the top Wild Card berth, the season came crashing down in an ugly loss to the Houston Texans.
A rough loss in the playoffs is always going to land on a team’s star quarterback. Even if the signal caller plays well in defeat, they’ll wear the blame. And Justin Herbert did not play well against the Texans. Herbert’s postseason performance this year was the second worst by a QB in the last 10 seasons by EPA per pass play. Not good.
However, Chargers’ All-Pro safety Derwin James came to his quarterback’s defense. “He don’t deserve it,” James said regarding the criticism surrounding Herbert, per NFL.com. “We play a team sport. When you’re the quarterback, you’re the D-end, or, like I’m the safety, it all lies on our shoulders. When it ain’t going right or if it is going right. I just feel like it’s always going to be on [No.] 10’s shoulders no matter how the guys are playing around him or how he’s playing. It’s always going to be on his shoulders,” James added.
While the sentiment is positive and having your teammate’s back is a good thing, there’s just nowhere for Herbert to hide from this. His game against the Texans was atrocious. And fans, predictably, roasted him for the meltdown.
Herbert completed just 14 of 32 passes for 242 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions, as the Chargers lost 32-12. His four picks against Houston were more than he threw in the entire regular season. Herbert played all 17 games in 2024 and tossed 23 touchdowns against just three interceptions. But the high-pressure atmosphere of postseason play appeared to take its toll, as he coughed up the ball again and again.
The Chargers were favorites in the game. Rex Ryan went out on a limb, foolishly declaring that LA had a bye in the first round, as he was supremely confident that the Chargers would easily dispatch the Texans. But the limb snapped and LA was crushed underneath it. Herbert is now 0-2 in the playoffs with a completion percentage of 52, a rating of 60.7 and two touchdowns to four interceptions.
Still, he’s clearly won over his teammates. “Y’all stop disrespecting him,” James said via NFL.com. “I promise you. I can’t wait for y’all to see this next season when I know we’re going to do what we do, for y’all really get to see the real 10. I know how hard he works. I wouldn’t rather have no other quarterback.”
Herbert has been excellent in the regular season, ever since he took the league by storm in 2020, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has thrown for more than 4,300 yards in three of his five seasons with 137 touchdowns against just 45 interceptions. Hopefully he’ll...
