Chargers vs Jaguars NFL Wild Card Weekend: QB matchup | Justin Herbert vs Trevor Lawrence

The Wild Card Weekend is upon us! The NFL playoffs begin this Saturday, including a matchup between two of the league’s best young quarterbacks. The Jacksonville Jaguars host the Los Angeles Chargers as both quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert will play in their first-ever post season game.

Follow Chargers vs Jaguars live

Trevor Lawrence vs Justin Herbert: How do they compare?

Honestly, Lawrence and Herbert are quite similar. They are both young (Herbert, 24 and Lawrence, 23), they both have strong arms which they use to throw long-pocket passes, and they are both future franchise quarterbacks. Let’s take a look at their stats:

Trevor Lawrence:

Justin Herbert:

Quite similar, as you can see. Herbert has slightly more passing yards and a slightly better completion percentage. Lawrence has a slightly better passer rating and yards per attempt, plus fewer interceptions. Both have the same amount of touchdown passes. Herbert and Lawrence are on the way to establishing themselves as long-term quarterbacks in the NFL and both quarterbacks play a huge role on their team’s offense. So get ready for an exciting game on Saturday as Lawrence and Herbert show off their athletic abilities.

The Chargers may be playing without wide receiver Mike Williams on Saturday as he is dealing with a back contusion which he suffered in Week 18 against the Broncos. That’s a shame for Herbert as Williams is the Chargers’ most productive pass-catcher. Though it won’t be the first time Herbert has had to make it work with injured players, and he’s proven that he can get the job done just fine despite it.

Lawrence has had a much better second season under the guidance of Doug Pederson. The Jaguars started off a bit rocky, getting off to a 2-6 start, but Lawrence helped them turn things around to eventually end the regular season 9-8 and winners of the AFC South.

When the two last met, it was Week 3 and the Jaguars came out on top, beating the Chargers 38-10 on the road. In that game, Lawrence definitely had the better day, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Herbert had 297 yards and one touchdown pass and one interception. It should be noted that Herbert was dealing with a rib injury and was limited in the game. Since then, though, both the Jags and the Chargers have evolved.

“That was a long time ago,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said. “There’s some new faces on their side. There’s some new faces on our side. Schematically, probably both the same with us and with them. Again, we’ve talked about it a lot, you’re not going to trick anybody. It just comes down to execution, both sides, them and us.”

“Both athletic guys, can run, extend plays...good vision,” Pederson said. “He’s [Herbert] been in these moments before with his team so he’s got a little experience over Trevor that way. But it should be a fun game to watch these guys play.”

Herbert and Lawrence will face off when the Chargers play the Jaguars on Saturday, January 14 at 8:15 p.m. ET at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.