Getting a win in the postseason is not as easy as it looks. Justin Herbert can vouch for that. Herbert still has not won a playoff game.
The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback has started and played in two playoff games during his five seasons in the NFL, but he has failed to deliver a victory both times.
In his first try at it in the postseason, Herbert and the Chargers could not protect a 27-7 lead and eventually lost 31-30 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022. Fast forward to the 2024 regular season.
Herbert produced another stellar season, throwing for 3,870 yards with 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Herbert was expected to see a breakthrough this time in the postseason.

However, Herbert and the Chargers will have to wait at least another year for that to happen. That’s because the Houston Texans did a number on both Herbert and the Chargers in their NFL Wild Card round matchup.
Houston’s defense forced Herbert into a horrid afternoon by intercepting the Chargers’ signal-caller four times, including coming up with a pick-six, to come away with a 32-12 win. Herbert completed only 14 of his 32 passes for 242 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 40.9.
Where Herbert and the Chargers fell short was on third down attempts. The Chargers went 3-of-11 on third down and made just 15 first downs. Those kinds of numbers are not going to win too many ballgames in the postseason.
The Chargers last won in the postseason in 2018. That’s when they were able to rattle a young quarterback by the name of Lamar Jackson in his postseason debut to come away with a 23-17 win in Baltimore. The last time the Chargers advanced to a divisional playoff game was way back in 2013.
So it’s been a while since the Chargers have experienced playoff joy. Herbert, who was drafted sixth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, has been expected to provide those moments. So far, it’s been no dice for the Chargers quarterback.

With Herbert coming up short, the Chargers did have a bit of sunlight against the Texans. That came in the form of rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
McConkey caught 9 of Herbert’s 14 completed passes for 197 yards, including coming up with an 86-yard touchdown, which turned out to be the Chargers only non-field goal on the afternoon.
Prior to the Chargers playing the Texans, Houston defensive coordinator Matt Burke had high praise for McConkey.
“Yeah, he’s a really good player. He’s proven that,” Burke said. “Obviously, had a good season. Formed a connection with the quarterback pretty early, obviously, you can see that. Very crisp route runner. Very sharp breaks, top of the routes, has it all in his bag, in breaks, out breaks, a lot of option stuff with him. So, hard to just pick one leverage with him, because he can run it all.”

Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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