Justin Herbert threw three touchdown passes and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched their second playoff appearance in three seasons with a 40-7 victory over the New England Patriots on Saturday. The win also secured the fourth postseason appearance in Jim Harbaugh’s five seasons as an NFL coach,

The Chargers obliterated the New England Patriots 40-7, clinching a wild-card spot. The Chargers improved to 10-6. They still have a shot at the No. 5 seed, which is valuable because that team will play the Houston Texans, who will be the weakest of the AFC's division winners and are locked into the No. 4 seed.

Coming into the game, Herbert, in his fifth season in the NFL, had amassed 20,466 career passing yards, good for the second-most ever in a player's first five years in league history behind former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (20,618). The former Oregon Ducks star needed just 153 yards to break the record.