Justin Herbert threw three landing passes and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched their second playoff look in three seasons with a 40-7 victory over the New England Patriots on Saturday.
The win additionally secured the fourth postseason look in Jim Harbaugh’s 5 seasons as an NFL coach, including to the three he made throughout his stint with the San Francisco 49ers.
Herbert completed 26 of 38 for 281 yards to change into the third participant in NFL historical past with a minimum of 3,000 passing yards and 20 landing passes in every of his first 5 seasons. He joins Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.
Ladd McConkey had eight catches for 94 yards and pulled in TD throws of 6 and 40 yards. With a 10-yard reception within the second quarter he handed 1,000 yards receiving for the season, making him the third Chargers rookie receiver to achieve that milestone.
JK Dobbins rushed 19 instances for 76 yards and a TD.
The Patriots have misplaced six straight video games, their second such dropping streak of the season. They’re now 2-14 the final two seasons at house.
New England quarterback Drake Maye completed 12 of twenty-two for 117 yards and a landing. He grew to become the primary rookie quarterback in franchise historical past with a TD cross in eight straight video games. However he was sacked 4 instances, and a second-quarter fumble marked his eighth straight recreation with a minimum of one turnover.
Los Angeles outgained New England 428-181 for the sport.
Maye briefly left the sport to be evaluated for a head harm following a blow to his helmet within the first quarter.
He was scrambling close to the sideline on third down of the Patriots’ first possession when he was hit by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart, jarring the ball free as Maye spun out of bounds.
No flag was thrown on the play and Maye stayed down on the turf for a number of seconds earlier than finally getting up and jogging off the sphere. He initially sat on the bench earlier than going to the medical tent for analysis.
He was changed by backup Jacoby Brissett within the subsequent sequence, which resulted in a punt. However after additional analysis within the locker room and a Cameron Dicker 27-yard area purpose put the Chargers in entrance 10-0, Maye returned to the sport for the Patriots’ third sequence, on the 10:15 mark of the second quarter.
Maye scrambled for 9 yards on his first play again, ending with him being hit by linebacker Junior Colson as he slid to the bottom. Colson was flagged for pointless roughness.
5 performs later, Maye mistimed a toss to Demario Douglas, inflicting a fumble that was recovered by Derwin James.
The Chargers took over on the New England 24 and 9 performs later, Herbert linked with McConkey for a six-yard landing cross to place Los Angeles in entrance 17-0.
