Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was effusive in his praise of quarterback Justin Herbert throughout the regular season and that isn’t changing in the aftermath of the team’s playoff loss to the Texans.
Herbert threw four interceptions in the 32-12 loss after throwing three interceptions all season and the defeat dropped him to 0-2 in the playoffs in his career. That has sparked some criticism of his performances in the biggest games on the schedule, but Harbaugh doesn’t think any of it is justified.
“Completely unfair,” Harbaugh said at a press conference. “I wouldn’t spend two more seconds thinking about what happened in that game. It didn’t go good, and that’s on me, that’s my responsibility, that’s my accountability. I really felt going into that tournament that we were as good as the best teams in the playoffs. Not just as good as any team, but as good as the best teams in the playoffs. That day, we were not the better team that day. That’s my responsibility. We did not play complementary football well enough. My responsibility. We weren’t our best when our best was needed. . . . We did him a disservice and didn’t put him in the positions to be successful enough, but he played like a beast.”
General Manager Joe Hortiz noted Peyton Manning started his career 0-3 in the playoffs while calling it “absurd” to hang a narrative around Herbert’s neck after two playoff appearances. Others would be less forgiving and it will be a while before any more data points are entered into the conversation.
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