I Still Believe in the Justin Herbert–Jim Harbaugh Duo Long-Term… But C’mon

The Los Angeles Chargers’ 2025 season came to an end on Sunday night with a 16–3 road loss to the New England Patriots in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

This was a game that was fairly ugly and did not have many explosive offense plays or highlight-reel moments. It was a defensive struggle for most of the night, where points were hard to come by and both teams struggled to move the ball consistently.

For New England, Drake Maye did not have a great game in his playoff debut, and for long stretches this felt like a game either defense could steal. Both units showed up and deserved credit for keeping the respective offenses in the game for as long as they did.

Ultimately, though, playoff games often come down to one quarterback making one winning play, and that moment belonged to Maye. His late connection with Hunter Henry to put New England up by two scores effectively put the game out of reach and sealed the Chargers’ fate.

With this loss, Justin Herbert now falls to 0–3 in his postseason career, and the scary part is each playoff appearance has looked worse than the last.

It began in 2022 with a blown 27–0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season against the Houston Texans, Herbert threw four interceptions, but at least there was an argument that he was being aggressive and trying to push the ball downfield and put points on the board.

This time, against the Patriots, the Chargers managed just three points. It was an absolutely awful offensive performance, especially against a New England team that was less experienced at the quarterback position. Herbert, the veteran, was outplayed in the biggest moment by Maye, who wasn't even that great himself for a majority of the night.

Herbert will be entering his seventh season in the NFL next year, still without a single playoff win or even a significant moment that you can name off the top of your head.

Since the moment he stepped into the league, he has been crowned as a top-five quarterback. But at some point, the lack of postseason needs to be brought up when we rank him among his peers.

This is a difficult position for me to be in and hard for me to say, because my long-term belief in Justin Herbert is not completely gone. In fact, I still have a strong belief in the Herbert–Jim Harbaugh duo, and I do believe that one day they will reach a Super Bowl together.

That said, something has shifted. At this point, I genuinely have more belief in Jim Harbaugh than Herbert. That is a wild thing to say about a quarterback who is widely regarded as one of the league’s best. Because Herbert is one of the best... when the games don't matter.

And that’s where my concern comes in.

This season was about adversity for Herbert. Before the year even started, star tackle Rashawn Slater was lost for the season. Then, midway through the year, Joe Alt went down as well, making the offensive line go from one of the league's best to the NFL's worst. The wide receiver corps was underwhelming, as second-year receiver Ladd McConkey probably didn't take the leap many of us expected, and the running back room was constantly dealing with injuries and inconsistency.

Given all of that, Herbert dragging this team into the playoffs is something he should be proud of. This might actually be his most impressive season to date given what was going on around him and the many injuries he himself played through.

But unfortunately, the final image we are left with is this playoff performance, and it leaves a sour taste. Herbert has been playing through a broken hand. He’s been beaten up all year, and yes, those things matter, but they also aren’t unique. Many quarterbacks throughout NFL history have dealt with similar circumstances and still found ways to rise in January.

Going into next season, Justin Herbert should have exactly one goal... win a playoff game.

It does not matter how it looks. It does not matter if it’s ugly. Style points are irrelevant at this stage of his career.

Because if the Chargers reach year eight of the Justin Herbert era and there is still no postseason victory, I would not be shocked to hear rumors that Jim Harbaugh may be open to at least considering finding a quarterback he believes can get him over the hump. And at that point, the “automatic top-five quarterback” treatment has to stop.

To be clear, Herbert will still likely be ranked as a top-five or top-six quarterback heading into next season. But for the first time since he entered the league as an elite talent, there is a real, uncomfortable question forming.

Why is he always shrinking in these moments?

Just a thought, but one that’s getting harder to ignore.