Justin Herbert still thinks about that day.
Searching for his first-career postseason win on Jan. 11 2025, Herbert and the Chargers entered with high hopes after earning the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and taking on the Texans. Instead of a moment worth celebrating, that day quickly turned to despair as the Chargers left NRG Stadium with a 32-12 loss that ended their season.
However, it wasn’t the loss that ate at Herbert. It was how they lost.
In the worst performance of his career, Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions, took four sacks, completed a career-worst 43.8 percent of his passes and posted a 40.9 passer rating — another career-low.
“I let the team down,” Herbert said afterward. “You can’t turn over the ball like that and expect to win. I put the team in a tough position there with four turnovers like that.”
Exactly one year later, Herbert has a chance to secure that elusive postseason win when Los Angeles faces the Patriots on Sunday. Kickoff against New England is set for 5 p.m. PT on NBC/Peacock.
“It was one of those things that you continue to think about,” Herbert told reporters in December. “No one felt worse than I did after that game. And I think it’s important to continue to move forward and realize that it’s what happened. It would be crazy of me to deny the truth of what happened and to live in this reality where if I tried to block it out, I don’t think that’s doing any good.”
It’s been a miraculous season for Herbert and the Chargers, finishing 11-6 and securing the No. 7 seed in the AFC.
Armed with one of the best tackle duos in the NFL, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt never played a snap together this season. Slater tore his patellar tendon during training camp and underwent season-ending surgery. Alt was lost for the season after he underwent season-ending surgery for a right ankle injury he aggravated following a win over Tennessee on Nov. 2.
With his two Pro Bowl tackles done for the year, Herbert spent much of the season behind a makeshift offensive line that ranked among the worst in the league.
Heading into a Week 18 showdown with the Broncos where the Chargers rested the majority of their starters, Los Angeles’ offensive line ranked last in pass block win rate and second-to-last in run block win rate. Their 29 different offensive line combinations was the third-most in the NFL.
Despite those tribulations, Herbert still threw for 3,727 and 26 touchdowns, totals that rank in the top 10. He also added career highs of 83 rushes for 498 yards and 6.0 yards per carry.
