Herbert and the Chargers raced out to a 27-0 first-half lead two years in the past at Jacksonville in a wild-card spherical sport, solely to have the Jaguars rally for a 31-30 victory.
One factor Herbert is attempting to not do is be certain what occurred in that sport doesn’t affect what occurs on Saturday.
“You never let a previous game affect the next one. There have been plenty of games we have won or lost the past couple of years we haven’t brought up,” he mentioned.
Regardless of serving to lead the Chargers to 11 victories — their most since 2018 — it has been a blended season statistically for Herbert. He averaged a career-low 227.6 passing yards per sport, however has a career-best 101.7 passer ranking.
Herbert additionally grew to become the second participant in league historical past to have at the very least 500 cross makes an attempt and throw three or fewer interceptions in a season. Aaron Rodgers was the primary in 2018. Regardless of having solely two 300-yard video games this season, Herbert nonetheless has probably the most completions (1,945) and passing yards (21,093) by a participant in his first 5 seasons in NFL historical past.
Going into the season, Herbert was studying his fourth offense in 5 years and attempting to construct a rapport with an inexperienced receiving unit after the offseason departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
To compound issues, Herbert missed two weeks of coaching camp due to a foot harm. He then was restricted in two early season video games due to a excessive ankle sprain suffered on Sept. 15 at Carolina.
Herbert admitted this week that the training curve of coordinator Greg Roman’s offense was a bit steep.
“It takes a long time, especially to have a feel for why he’s calling a certain play and understanding the different checks and what he wants,” Herbert mentioned. “It’s something you can’t just learn in camps and OTAs where you’re not facing a true defense or feeling the true pressure.”
Essentially the most vital space of enchancment in Herbert’s sport this season has been utilizing play motion. The Chargers used play motion on 32.6% of his drop-backs, the second-highest fee within the league.
“I feel like he has improved incredibly from day one to now,” Roman mentioned of Herbert and play motion. “He wasn’t into the play action a whole lot, so the ball handling, the fakes, the various actions, some quarterbacks do it well, and others it is an afterthought. It’s a token. I feel like he has really brought that level of his game up and continues to ascend.”
Since being employed by the Chargers final January, coach Jim Harbaugh has been Herbert’s largest fan. Harbaugh has developed extra of an appreciation of Herbert watching him in apply.
“He gives no keys. There’s nothing with his eyes that tell a defender where the ball is going, nothing with his shoulder tilt or his posture,” Harbaugh mentioned. “The ball is launched so rapidly that it’s by folks. Defenders don’t have the benefit of getting a set.
“I think, too, for receivers, his anticipation and timing are so incredible they can’t count on seeing the ball out of his hand. A lot of times when they are running the routes, the ball might be halfway there.”
Herbert mentioned the factors of emphasis in opposition to the Texans on Saturday would be the similar they’ve been your complete season — executing on third down and within the purple zone together with limiting turnovers.
Herbert and the Chargers will face a Texans protection that’s ranked sixth in opposition to the cross, permitting 201 yards per sport. Houston was second within the league in interceptions with 19.
“The most important thing is to trust yourself and know we didn’t get here by chance or luck. We earned the spot, and nothing else is given. We have to survive, make plays and trust we know what we’re doing and play the way we can,” Herbert mentioned.
