Emmanuel Acho wins laps after Justin Herbert struggles

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert may have played his worst game of his NFL career during the team’s Wild Card round loss to Houston Texas. He completed 14 of 32 passes for 242 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. Fox Sports analyst Emanuel Acho, a noted Herbert critic, was visibly delighted by the quarterback’s poor performance, matching the enthusiasm of Texas fans.

“I was never wrong about Justin Herbert. I was only the first. I never said Justin Herbert was bad, he wasn’t. All I said was that he was overrated and overrated. Both have never been more apparent,” Acho said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He even labeled it the Chargers signal caller a #SocialMediaQuarterback.

Justin Herbert’s worst game of his career

Herbert finished the regular season with just three interceptionsbut the Texans took him a career-high four times in their Wild Card matchup, including one return for a touchdown.

Justin Herbert became the first player in NFL history with at least 200 pass attempts to throw more interceptions in a playoff game than he did during the regular season. The Texans pressured him on 50% of his snaps, and he completed just 3 of 14 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception while pressured, according to Next Generation Stats.

Defensive end Derek Burnett’s pressure with 21 seconds left in the third quarter led to the biggest play of the game. He forced Herbert’s throw to wideout Led McConkey to sail, allowing safety Eric Murray to intercept it and return it for a touchdown, giving Houston a 20-6 lead.

In the fourth quarter, All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley sealed the game by intercepting Herbert on both a short and a deep pass.

According to ESPN Research, the Texans became the fifth team since 1963 to record four interceptions, a punt return for a touchdown and four sacks in a playoff game.

The last three teams to accomplish the feat in the playoffs were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 and the San Francisco 49ers in 1989, all of whom went on to win the Super Bowl.

Herbert and the Chargers suffered crushing losses in the playoffs

The game marked just the second playoff appearance of Justin Herbert’s career. His first was in the 2022 playoffs, a wild-card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is considered one of the worst playoff losses in history.

Herbert and the Chargers led 27-0 midway through the second quarter, but were outscored 31-3 the rest of the game, eventually losing 31-30. The loss marks the largest lost lead in franchise history and the first playoff game in which a team with a margin of five or more turnovers still loses.

The Chargers quarterback’s performance against the Texans on Saturday was his worst, but his performance against the Jaguars wasn’t much better. He threw for 273 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. However, similar to the Texans’ game, he faded in the second half, unable to keep the defense off the field.

In his fifth year, Herbert’s playoff record is 0-2, although he could have won both games with a better performance.

As for the Texans, they now await their next opponent in the Divisional Round. With the NFL reseeding playoff teams after each round, Houston could face the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos or Baltimore Ravens. The location of their next playoff game will also be decided when all AFC Wild Card games are completed.