Justin Herbert didn't look the part of an elite quarterback on Sunday night. And it wasn't the first time the LA Chargers' signal-caller no-showed on the biggest stage.
There's no denying Herbert is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league and is an excellent regular-season quarterback. But until he gets over the hump and has a good playoff game, let alone win a game, there will be deserved narratives undermining any talks of him being elite.
Chargers fans find themselves in a tough spot. They have a quarterback who passes the eye test and has the talent to lead a Super Bowl run, yet turns into a completely different quarterback every time the lights are the brightest. Yes, there are legitimate reasons that aren't Herbert's fault that have played a factor, but the best quarterbacks in the league overcome those issues.
Herbert himself doesn't even have the answers for his playoff performances. When asked after the game about his confidence to get over the playoff hump, Herbert offered a bleak response that's hard for fans to rally behind.
“I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet and it hasn't happened, so we'll have to reevaluate and see what happens," Herbert said.
Justin Herbert doesn't know how to get over the hump in the NFL Playoffs
Well this is an answer that elicits confidence. It's understandably an emotional moment for Herbert where he is being vulnerable, but it's still never great when your franchise quarterback answers with an "I don't know".
And quite frankly, it's hard to pinpoint the solution from the outside. Yes, there have been legitimate reasons for each of Herbert's bad playoff performances. But at some point, he has to rise above the reasons and excuses and win an actual playoff game.
That is what elite quarterbacks do. If Herbert fails to his circumstances every single time the lights are bright in the playoffs then he's not an elite quarterback, plain and simple. He can be a top-five talent and one of the most valuable regular-season quarterbacks but none of it matters if he doesn't show up in the playoffs.
That's what makes these performances so frustrating. Chargers fans know firsthand how valuable Herbert is and how, without him, the Chargers would be irrelevant. The entire reason why the Chargers have Jim Harbaugh and have a contending window is that Herbert is the quarterback.
That version of Herbert is in there; it just has to show up in the playoffs. Six years without a single postseason win is a big deal, especially as Herbert gets closer and closer to 30. Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, and the longer Herbert goes without that elusive playoff win, the more worried fans should be.
Herbert doesn't have any answers right now, but he absolutely has to find them quickly. Windows are short in the NFL, and while it just opened for the Chargers, it's not great that the team has zero playoff wins in the first two years of this window.
The window will close sooner than you expect, and it's imperative that Herbert figures it out before it does.