Justin Herbert assigns blame after Chargers' playoff loss to Patriots

The offense of the Los Angeles Chargers was largely a non-factor in the club's 16-3 wild-card playoff loss at the New England Patriots on Sunday evening. 

Following the defeat, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert accepted blame for all that went wrong for the Los Angeles offense at Gillette Stadium.

Justin Herbert "didn't play well enough" in loss to Patriots

"I didn't play well enough and didn't make any plays," Herbert explained, per Kris Rhim of ESPN. "And when it mattered most, we didn't score any points."

Herbert underwent surgery in early December to repair a fracture in his left (non-throwing) hand. More recently, he took a beating as he was sacked six times against a smothering New England defense that kept the Chargers out of the end zone for four quarters of action. 

In total, Herbert completed 19 of 31 passes for 159 yards with no scores and no interceptions against the Patriots. He also led the Chargers with 57 rushing yards. 

"Quarterback play wasn't good enough," Herbert said about his performance.

Justin Herbert opens up about playoff woes

When the Chargers signed Herbert to a five-year, $262.5M contract extension in the summer of 2023, they unofficially declared that they viewed him as the type of long-term franchise quarterback who would win multiple playoff games for the organization. 

On Sunday, Herbert fell to 0-3 as a postseason starter. He sounded downright dejected while speaking about his search for the first playoff victory of his career, one that will continue through at least early January 2027.

"Haven't figured that out yet," Herbert said about earning a postseason win, per Chris Bumbaca of USA Today. "That's the tough part about the NFL. There (are) a lot of good teams, and (I) wasn't good enough today." 

For what it's worth, multiple Chargers players defended Herbert after the loss. Right guard Mekhi Becton said he did not think Herbert "did anything wrong" against the Patriots. Wide receiver Keenan Allen referred to Herbert as "the reason we’re in this position." Fair or not, some will see Herbert as a reason why the Chargers' season came to an end on the second Sunday of January.