In today’s final wild-card showdown, the New England Patriots’ defense dominated in a 16-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers. Quarterback Justin Herbert was shut down completely tonight, and it wasn’t his first playoff setback. In the post-game presser, he sounded like a man running out of answers.

Reporter Kris Rhim asked Justin Herbert in a post-game presser: “What is your confidence in yourself that you will be able to get over this hump? Get a playoff win, make a playoff run?”

The Chargers QB replied, “I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet and it hasn’t happened, so we’ll have to reevaluate and see what happens.”

Sure, he’s just 27 years old right now. He has ample time to deliver iconic postseason performances, or maybe even win some Super Bowls. But the way things have been going these last few years, Justin Herbert is not really making his case to the world.

This game dragged on without a touchdown for three quarters, and the Chargers’ defense did its part to keep things alive. They forced two turnovers (an interception and a strip sack) to buy some time for their offense. The problem was that the offense did absolutely nothing with them.

Herbert finished 19-of-31 for 159 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and a quarterback rating that bottomed out at 25.0. It took nearly 55 minutes for him to even cross the 100-yard mark through the air. After the regular season he had, there was hope this might finally be the night he broke through. But it was another playoff disappointment. That’s become the pattern.

Drafted in 2020, Herbert exploded early, throwing for more than 30 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons. His first playoff appearance came in 2022, and for a while, it looked like a breakthrough. The Chargers jumped out to a 27–0 lead against the Jaguars in the wild-card round. Somehow, they lost 31–30 in one of the most painful collapses the postseason has seen.

Last season brought another shot, this time against the Houston Texans. Houston pressured Herbert on nearly 40 percent of his dropbacks. He threw four interceptions, and the Chargers went home again. This season played out no differently. And the quarterback pointed fingers after the loss.

Justin Herbert knows he should’ve done more

Everyone knows Justin Herbert didn’t have a bad season. In 16 games, he threw for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns, his best TD production since 2022. But Herbert also knew this night was different. This was a playoff game, a chance to finally flip the script on everything that’s followed him into January. He couldn’t, and he held himself accountable.

“I didn’t play well enough and didn’t make any plays,” Herbert said. “And when it mattered most, we didn’t score any points.”

There’s not much to argue there. We’ve seen him be sharper than this, this season and in years past. But while Herbert has to own the night, it can’t all be laid at his feet. The problems around him have been piling up for months, starting up front.

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The offensive line has been a constant headache, mostly because it’s been held together with tape. Season-ending injuries to tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt left massive holes the Chargers never really solved. Protection became a weekly adventure.

By the end of the regular season, the Los Angeles Chargers had used an NFL-high 32 different offensive line combinations. Herbert was pressured on a league-high 263 dropbacks, sacked a career-worst 54 times, and hit 74 times. Even in this playoff loss, he was sacked six times. That’s a lot to ask any quarterback to overcome, no matter how talented.

And Herbert wasn’t exactly healthy himself. He said this week marked the first time he’d taken snaps under center early in practice since breaking his (non-throwing) hand in Week 13. He had surgery on December 1, played through it, and finally sat out in Week 18 to let it calm down.

Regardless of tonight, he gave his all this season. Next year, he will have a healthier offensive line and more experience. And of course, another chance to change the playoff narrative.