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The only time Justin Herbert had a playoff start was when the Los Angeles Chargers suffered a heartbreaking 31-30 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 season.
Two years later, Herbert had the opportunity to obtain his first playoff victory as the Chargers faced the Houston Texans.
Not only will Herbert be looking for his first win, but he will also try to give the Chargers their first playoff victory since the 2018 season. Los Angeles then defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23-17 in the first round, before losing losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.
Herbert had a good season with over 500 pass attempts (504) and three interceptions. He is only the second quarterback in NFL history to achieve this feat, after Aaron Rodgers in 2018.
His favorite target was rookie Ladd McConkey, who caught 82 balls for 1,149 yards this season.
The Chargers entered the playoffs with an 11-6 record and finished the campaign with three straight wins.
In the Texans camp, the team managed to secure a place in the playoffs even if each of its first three receivers missed games. Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs all saw their seasons end, while Nico Collins was limited to 12 games.
After a brilliant start to the season, Collins has slowed down recently and has just reached the 1,000-yard mark.
Last season, Houston crushed the Cleveland Browns in its first playoff game, before losing to the Baltimore Ravens.
This season, the Texans can count on the experience of running back Joe Mixon, who notably reached the Super Bowl final with the Cincinnati Bengals.
STEELERS C. RAVENS
RDS, 20 H
A duel at the top of the AFC North division.
-The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens crossed swords in the playoffs was in 2008. John Harbaugh was in his first season in Baltimore Mike Tomlin was in his second campaign with the Steelers.
It was Tomlin who had the upper hand and he subsequently led his team to the SuperBowl title.
Much has changed since then.
The Ravens finished the season with a 12-5 record and were crowned division champions, but that doesn’t mean the Steelers don’t have reason to believe in their chances.
The Steelers are one of the teams that handed the Ravens a loss this season, by a score of 18-16 in November. But since then, the Ravens have won five of their last six games, including a 34-17 victory against the same Steelers.
The opposite happened in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers had a difficult end to the season with four losses in a row.
Last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers offense was neutral and receiver George Pickens finished the game with 0 yards.
Now would be a good time to get going again, especially since the Ravens defense has been one of the worst in the NFL against the pass this season, allowing nearly 4,500 yards and 27 touchdowns on the air.
Offensively, however, the Ravens have the ammunition to hurt the Steelers. Lamar Jackson is in the discussion for the MVP title. He threw for more than 4,000 yards, added 915 yards on the ground, and totaled 45 touchdowns against four interceptions. What a season!
And the ground game is among the most terrifying with Derrick Henry alongside Jackson. The latter had another thunderous season with almost 2,000 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.
