Jim Harbaugh thinks 4 interceptions wasn’t enough to warrant Justin Herbert criticism

It was quite the turnaround for a team that had won five games in 2023. Led by new head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Los Angeles Chargers more than doubled their pleasure, and more than doubled their fun in finishing 11-6 this season. The Bolts claimed a wild-card berth, and were in Houston last Saturday to battle the AFC South champion Texans.

Harbaugh’s team came up well short in a 32-12 setback. It was a rough afternoon for quarterback Justin Herbert, who was sacked four times and served up four interceptions in the loss—one of those returned for a score. While there was certainly some finger pointing, the Chargers’ sideline boss would have none of that.

Is Justin Herbert receiving too much blame for the Chargers’ loss?

All told, it was a rough afternoon for the Chargers in general. They were outgained, 429-261, and lost the time of possession battle by almost 10 minutes. However, the team’s head coach has an issue with those putting the loss on his talented quarterback, via NFL.com.

“Completely unfair,” explained Harbaugh. "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. Again, my responsibility. But Justin Herbert?...

“We did him a disservice and didn’t put him in the positions to be successful enough, but he played like a beast…There’s nobody in this entire organization who gives more blood, sweat and tears and contributes more, produces more for the entire organization than Justin Herbert.”

That may be true in terms of what the fifth-year quarterback brings to the team. Still, it was a very uncharacteristic performance by the talented signal-caller, especially when you take into account his season-long performance, as well as his career to date.

Entering last Saturday’s clash with the Texans, Herbert had played and started in a total of 80 games, including playoffs. He had never thrown four interceptions in any of those contests. In fact, he had never been picked off at least three times in any game. Herbert threw multiple interceptions in only eight of those 80 outings. This season, he had thrown only three picks in 17 regular-season contests entering the playoffs.

It's safe to say that the criticism has some merit to it, to say the least.