Justin Herbert passed for 281 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched an AFC playoff berth with a dominating 40-7 victory over the New England Patriots on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
Ladd McConkey caught eight passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Derwin James had two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Chargers (10-6), who are playoff-bound in Jim Harbaugh’s first season as coach.
Derius Davis also had a scoring catch, J.K. Dobbins rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Cameron Dicker booted four field goals.
Herbert completed 26 of 38 passes as the Chargers improved to 3-12 all-time in Foxborough, including playoffs.
Drake Maye completed 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown for New England (3-13), which lost its sixth consecutive game. DeMario Douglas caught a scoring pass for the Patriots.
Los Angeles outgained New England 428-181 and had a 29-11 edge in first downs while controlling the ball for 40:34 en route to a season-high point total.
The Chargers led by 13 at halftime and continued to control the game in the second half.
The first time Los Angeles had the ball, it moved 94 yards on 10 plays with Herbert connecting on a 40-yard scoring pass to McConkey to make it 27-7 with 7:37 left in the period.
Dicker drilled a 41-yard field with 5:43 left in the third quarter to make it a 23-point margin.
Dobbins’ 2-yard run made it 37-7 with 11:58 left in the contest. Dicker tacked on a 35-yard field goal with 3:47 left.
Herbert passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Chargers held a 20-7 halftime lead.
Los Angeles held edges of 249-91 in total offense, 18-5 in first downs and possessed the ball for 23:20 of the 30 minutes.
The Chargers took a 7-0 lead when Davis made a diving 23-yard touchdown catch from Herbert with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
Dicker’s 27-yard field goal elevated the lead to 10 with 10:15 left in the first half.
The Patriots botched a play in which Douglas couldn’t handle Maye’s errant pitch and James recovered for the Chargers at the New England 44-yard line with 8:35 left in the half.
The Chargers cashed in when Herbert threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to McConkey to make it 17-0 with 2:55 left.
The Patriots tallied with 1:24 left in the half when Douglas dove to make a grab of Maye’s 36-yard scoring pass with 1:24 remaining.
Dicker completed the first-half scoring with a 38-yard field goal that went high over the right upright and was ruled good by the officiating crew.
