Chargers' Jim Harbaugh gave Drake Maye high praise ahead of NFL playoffs

If the Los Angeles Chargers want to grab their first playoff win in the Jim Harbaugh era, they'll need to go through the New England Patriots first. In what's shaping up to be an electric Wild Card weekend slate of games, the Sunday night slot will be occupied by the Bolts heading to Foxborough.

This should be a classic quarterback duel between Justin Herbert and Drake Maye, both former first-round picks who quickly became the faces of their respective franchises. Both teams faced off last year, as the Chargers dominated 40-7.

The tables have turned this season, at least for the Pats, who occupy the AFC's second seed after a franchise turnaround under new head coach Mike Vrabel and a huge sophomore season from Maye. The Chargers are the seventh seed, with Herbert overcoming huge obstacles to help get to 11 wins.

Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Harbaugh had some high praise for the young Patriots quarterback.

Jim Harbaugh praised Drake Maye's effectiveness ahead of playoff meeting

Maye has thrown for a ridiculous 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, while also being the NFL's leader in completion percentage (72), average yards per attempt (8.9) and passer rating 113.5.

"Really effective in every part of the quarterback play," Harbaugh said. "Throwing with accuracy, throwing outside the numbers, deep in the middle, athleticism, poise, toughness, durability. Everything has been a great year for him by any quarterback standard."

Los Angeles Chargers, Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herber — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback for 14 seasons with four different franchises, certainly knows what it takes to be successful in this league. Luckily, he has the opportunity to coach one of the best in Herbert. Herbert's had a solid season as well, throwing for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns. The 13 interceptions are a huge jump from just three the previous season, but as the playbook opened up more from a run-heavy scheme, it was bound to happen.

The Herbert-Maye matchup should be an exciting one.

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