Chargers' Asante Samuel Jr. had a wild, record-setting first half vs. Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. may haunt the nightmares of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for eternity after posting an interception hat-trick in the first half of Saturday's AFC wild-card matchup.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Samuel is the first player to intercept three passes in the first half of a playoff game.
Samuel's historic performance began with 10:02 left in the first quarter when he picked off Lawrence to deny the Jaguars a critical early fourth down conversion.
Samuel picked off Lawrence again with 2:08 left in the opening quarter, helping the Chargers make a key third-down stop.
Samuel came up big again when it mattered most, recording his third interception of the half on another third down with 6:55 remaining in the second quarter.
After registering three picks in the first playoff outing of his career, Samuel is only four interceptions away from equaling his poppa, Asante Samuel Sr., who had seven in 21 postseason games, per Pro Football Focus.
Samuel and the Chargers made Lawrence wish he was back in college during Saturday's first half. Before leading a touchdown drive late, Lawrence had thrown four picks and was only 5-of-18 passing for 35 yards.
The Chargers forced five turnovers in total before halftime. According to the NFL media and research department, the Chargers are only the third team since 1991 to record five or more turnovers in a single half of a postseason game. They join the 1992 Dallas Cowboys and 2001 St. Louis Rams.
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