Jim Harbaugh is different. The moment that sunk in for Justin Herbert was when the Chargers’ head coach told the team he remembered the day he was born. While Harbaugh must have the memory of an elephant, Herbert also has some mammoth-sized memories entering the playoffs this week.
“He told us the whole story and he remembered looking out the window,” Herbert recalled this week. “He said, ‘I think it was a cold, snowy day.’ I really hope he does remember that. That’d be pretty cool.”
The Chargers (11-6) won’t have cold or snow when they visit the Texans (10-7) to kick off the 2024 playoffs on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS). But Herbert will have to deal with memories of his first postseason appearance since a 31-30 loss at Jacksonville three years ago. The Chargers blew a 27-0 lead, outscored 31-3 over the game’s final 30-plus minutes.
One minute, however, is all that’s needed to consider the context of that loss in NFL history. To those who say Herbert has all the stats but lacks playoff victories, consider this: According to FS1, Herbert and Peyton Manning were both 41-38 over their first 79 regular-season games. Each player threw 137 touchdown passes over that span.
Plus, Manning (0-3) wasn’t the only legendary quarterback without a postseason over his first five NFL seasons. Like Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Drew Brees also were 0-1. Manning, Rodgers, Stafford and Brees all went on to win Super Bowls. In Houston of all places, this week could be a launching point in Herbert’s career.
Another Chargers veteran without a playoff win is linebacker Khalil Mack, who’s played 167 NFL games and posted 107½ sacks but has yet to win a postseason contest in four tries. Mack’s first season with the Chargers also ended in Jacksonville that day. Prior to that, Mack’s Bears lost their first postseason games in both 2018 and 2020, and his Raiders bowed out in 2016 with a loss at Houston.
“It’s all been first-round exits,” Mack told Chargers.com. “That’s a sour taste.
“You don’t want to be in those shoes and those situations. Just make the most of your opportunities and giving it your all and not think about tomorrow.”
The Bolts are three-point road favorites entering Saturday’s game. Should they win, Los Angeles could get a rematch at Kansas City in the divisional round.
For more information on the Chargers and Texans, visit the L.A. Chargers and Houston team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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