Justin Herbert gets a bad Josh Allen comparison in NFL Wild Card round picks

Before the season began, the Los Angeles Chargers were under fire due to their lack of playoff wins with Justin Herbert at the helm. Some had an issue with Herbert being in top 10 quarterback lists due to the fact that he doesn't have a playoff victory just yet.

The time has come. The Bolts went 11-6 in the regular season and now have the New England Patriots staring them in the face in the Wild Card. They'll be the underdogs in this one, as the Chargers will be on the road in frigid conditions against the AFC's second seed.

Experts gave their picks and reasons as to who will win Sunday night's matchup. One wasn't a great sign for Herbert.

Herbert gets the wrong Josh Allen playoff comparison

The Chargers finished the season with the most different offensive line combinations (32) in the NFL, per @NextGenStats.

The teams with the most OL combos with record in parenthesis...

🔹Chargers - 32 (11-6)
🔹Browns - 30 (5-12)
🔹Saints - 29 (6-11)@chargers | #BoltUp
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) January 6, 2026

Wes O'Donnell had quite the reasoning when making his pick for the Pats to take down the Bolts.

"New England has been considerably more consistent than the Chargers this season, and injuries are a problem for Los Angeles," O'Donnell wrote. "Justin Herbert is not on Josh Allen's level yet as a playoff quarterback, and New England's consistency should delay Herbert's first postseason win; the Pats are the pick to cover here."

Allen's first playoff win didn't come until his third season: a Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts. Of course, Herbert is past that point, having gone 0-2 in the playoffs already. The odds are stacked against the Chargers once again, as most experts took the Patriots in this matchup.

Moe Moton was one of those that actually believes in the Chargers this weekend: "The Los Angeles Chargers' offensive line is the team's Achilles' heel, but the New England Patriots may not be able to fully exploit that weakness. The Patriots defense finished 24th in pressure rate for the regular season. Justin Herbert will have time to target wide receivers Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston downfield, which should be enough to keep the score within a field goal, but it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the Chargers pull off the upset."

The Chargers need to win in order to silence the talk around their quarterback.

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