Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had a game to forget against the Houston Texans in the AFC wild-card round.
Herbert was 14-of-32 for 242 yards with one passing touchdown and four interceptions in the Chargers’ 32-12 loss to the Texans.
“I just have to be better,” Herbert said.
The four interceptions were uncharacteristic of Herbert, who threw just three interceptions in 504 pass attempts during the regular season.
Herbert was pressured often and sacked three times and said he did a poor job of handling the pressure from the Texans defense.
Herbert put the blame on his shoulders after the game when he spoke to the media.
“It’s tough, I let the team down,” Herbert said. “You can’t turn over the ball like that and expect to win and I put the team in a tough position with four turnovers like that.”
The theme of Herbert’s news conference was “not putting the ball into harm’s way.” Herbert noted he was too aggressive down the field and has to be better at ball placement or throwing it away.
“It’s on me to protect the ball and be better about that,” Herbert said.
The quarterback often receives too much praise when things are going well and too much criticism when things go sideways, and that’s precisely what Herbert will have to endure from critics after a tough playoff loss. Herbert is now 0-2 in his career in the postseason.
The Chargers went 11-6 in the regular season and improved greatly under head coach Jim Harbaugh during his first year on the job after the franchise went 5-12 in 2023. However, when a season ends it’s always a bitter pill to swallow, especially for Herbert, who feels he’s the reason why the Chargers lost.
