Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw four interceptions in his team’s 32-12 playoff loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday. Herbert threw just three interceptions during the regular season, joining Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as the only quarterbacks to throw three or fewer in a season.
But Herbert didn’t look like Brady or Rodgers at any point during his disastrous day Saturday. With four interceptions and just 14 completions on 32 attempts, Herbert had arguably the worst performance of his career.
It also brought him to 0-2 in the playoffs. His only other playoff game was the historic collapse against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 wild card round.
Herbert faced intense criticism on social media during and after Saturday’s game.
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Saturday’s game also featured a unique moment in NFL playoff history.
Houston’s D’Angelo Ross returned a blocked extra point for two scores in the fourth quarter, the first in NFL postseason history.
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Will Anderson Jr. (51) of the Houston Texans fire Justin Herbert. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
The play came after Ladd McConkey scored on an 86-yard reception early in the fourth quarter. Cameron Dicker’s extra point attempt was blocked by Denico Autry.
The ball flew high in the air on the deflection and Dicker tried to knock it down but it bounced off his hands. Ross grabbed it and returned it for the score that pushed Houston’s lead to 25-12.
The NFL began awarding two points for an extra point returned into the end zone in 2015. Before that, a blocked extra point recovered by the defense was a dead ball.
It was the ninth extra point returned for a score since the rule change, according to Sportradar. It happened once in the 2024 regular season, when the Eagles did it against Tampa Bay on Sept. 29.
Denico Autry of the Houston Texans sacks Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers in the third quarter of an AFC wild-card game at NRG Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
With the loss, the Chargers end their season without a playoff win for the sixth consecutive season. They haven’t won a playoff game since Phillip Rivers’ last postseason run with the team in 2018, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens in a wild-card game.
The Texans won a playoff game for the second year in a row, led by quarterback CJ Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans.
