A pair of safeties and the Chargers’ WR1 stood out in the team’s season finale against the Texans.
I know winners and losers from the final game of the season may seem irrelevant, but we’re going to finish the season strong just like we would had we won. At the same time, there’s not much to say. Some people balled out, some did not.
Let’s go ahead and see who did what in the team’s season finale in Houston.
Winners
WR Ladd McConkey
In a game where everyone needed to play their best…well…at least a few players did.
McConkey was the best player on the field for the Chargers on Saturday and it wasn’t particularly close. He finished with nine receptions for 197 yards, the third most in a playoff debut ever and the most by a first-year player in NFL history.
Everyone else not named Ladd combined for five receptions and 45 receiving yards. That’s…let’s be honest…horrendous.
Quentin Johnston, the start of the regular season finale (13 receptions, 187 yards) went zero-for-five on his targets. No yards. Just vibes.
McConkey was the one constant this year for Justin Herbert, especially once Greg Roman realized about a third into the season that they still needed to throw the ball to be successful on offense.
Many people continue to consider McConkey not a true WR1, but his numbers don’t lie. He topped 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns combined in the regular season plus the playoff game. As a rookie. He’s going to be a good receiver in this league and I for one cannot wait to see what he does next season.
S Tony Jefferson
Hard to believe after games like this, Jefferson was a retired man less than a year ago.
The veteran safety was the highest-graded player on the entire team from Saturday’s against Houston with a 95.0 game grade from Pro Football Focus. He only notched three tackles in total, but two were tackles for loss and he also created a pressure on his lone blitz opportunity.
Jefferson may not have played enough this year to earn a bigger paycheck elsewhere, but I truly believe he showed enough as a backup that he deserves a chances to come back to the Chargers in 2025. This was a good safety room and you don’t just move on without financial constraints forcing your hand.
S Alohi Gilman
Gilman began the Texans game on a high note, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Derwin James on Houston’s opening drive. Joining Jefferson, he ended Saturday with an elite game grade by PFF (91.6) and the team’s best coverage grade (89.6).
In all, he tied for the team lead with 10 tackles to go with a pass breakup. He also allowed just one catch on four targets his way for seven yards.
Losers
CB Kristian Fulton
Fulton unfortunately could not break out of the rough skid he rode through the second half of the season.
After allowing just one touchdown through the first seven games, Fulton would go on to allow five through the final nine weeks, three of which came in the final five weeks, including Saturday’s playoff game. Per Pro Football Focus, Fulton also posted two of his worst three game grades of the season.
Against the Texans, Fulton allowed 59 yards in coverage (third most on team), including the lone touchdown pass to Nico Collins and the longest completion of the day (41 yards), also to Collins.
QB Justin Herbert
Herbert’s four-interception game is really a two-pick game with the right context.
The first was legitimately one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen him make. Running one way and throwing deep the opposite direction. Even with his howitzer arm, Herbert underthrew a deep ball to Johnston that was picked off. What made it worse was the Chargers had just picked off C.J. Stroud on the previous play to set them up in Houston territory.
Quick context the next three picks:
- Herbert, knowing McConkey was his only hope to move the ball, stayed hyper-fixated on his wideout despite the pass rush throwing him off his rhythm. On a short curl route, Herbert double-pumped and still chose to force the ball to #15. A defender in his face made him release it high and it sailed over McConkey’s head into the arms of safety Eric Murray.
- The third pick was in the hands of Will Dissly but he let it ricochet from his grasp into Derek Stingley’s
- The last pick was a YOLO ball to D.J. Chark with the game out of hand. It was not a smart decision but the moment did not call for the “smart” play because the smart play meant checking it down and gaining nothing of value. He had to take the risk, no matter how low of a chance he had to complete it.
All these things matter. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
But still, what a horrendous outing on the face of it. Herbert knows he could have done better, it’s just frustrating to watch him make one big mistake that subsequently put him and the team into more bad spots as the game wore on.
He’ll learn from this, but it’s unfortunate we won’t see how he bounces back until next season.