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Justin Herbert acknowledged his team’s shortcomings on Saturday.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and company saw the AFC West title slip away in a 20-16 loss on Saturday to the Houston Texans, and Herbert is fully aware of what that means beyond the field.
The Chargers (11-5) had a full house of 73,066 fans at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood amid a shot to catch the Denver Broncos (13-3) in the AFC West race. With a win, the Chargers would have had a showdown with the Broncos at Empower Field in Week 18 for the division crown.
“I thought it was awesome,” Herbert told reporters about Saturday’s fan support. “There were a lot of Chargers fans. Sorry, we didn’t get it done for them.”
“We do have a lot of fans here in LA. It’s on us to be able to deliver and give them a performance worthy of their support,” Herbert added.
The Chargers’ 2017 move from San Diego to Los Angeles has seen its ups and downs, with a stay at a 25,000-seat MLS stadium in Carson for three seasons before SoFi opened. On Saturday, the Chargers had a chance to win over the LA fan base but failed to lift off, instead against Houston (11-5).
Chargers Never Overcame Slow Start
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud buried the Chargers early in the first quarter with touchdown passes for Jadyen Higgins and Jaylin Noel for a 14-0 lead. Higgins hauled in a 75-yard pass, and Noel grabbed 43-yard score as the Chargers secondary uncharacteristically gave up two big scoring plays in one quarter.
Herbert couldn’t get anything going with the Chargers offense as the unit punted on the first three drives and never mustered more than six plays and 13 yards in any of those drives. Even the first scoring drive by the Chargers looked anemic.
Derwin James Jr. set up the Chargers with a scoring opportunity when he picked off Stroud during the second quarter, but the offense only garnered 28 yards on six plays and settled for a field goal. Herbert then got picked off on a pass to Oronde Gadsden II.
After another Stroud interception, the Chargers tried to score before halftime, but kicker Cameron Dicker missed on a 32-yard attempt, and Houston held a 14-3 lead at the half. Herbert and the offense finally woke up late in the third quarter when he connected with Gadsden on a 1-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left, 17-10.
The Chargers scored again in the fourth quarter with 3:37 left when running back Omarion Hampton had a 5-yard touchdown run. That capped a 7-play, 75-yard drive, but the Chargers defense couldn’t make another stop as Houston ate up the clock.
Chargers Hitting the Road
While Los Angeles fell, the Chargers are least playoff bound but now as the No. 7 seed unless things shift in Week 18. Los Angeles will need a win and a Houston loss in Week 18 to at least grab the No. 6 seed.
Either way, the Chargers will more than likely go on the road for the whole postseason. Los Angeles fortunately has a 6-2 record away from SoFi Stadium this season.
Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
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