COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is about to play the biggest game of his young NFL career. Beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) and the Chargers make the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Lose and it's back to, well, there's always next season.
Herbert will never say it -- he's too humble and unassuming -- but he knows the stakes and there's no doubt he's excited, which is different than being nervous. He's been through the nerves before -- in sixth grade trying to make the travel team, engineering a come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the 2020 Rose Bowl in college at Oregon and being thrown into the starting lineup minutes before the second game of his NFL career last year after Tyrod Taylor was injured.