Jesse Minter thinks Chargers’ defense is peaking at the right time before the playoffs

Quarterback Justin Herbert isn’t pretending the 2024 playoff loss to the Texans didn’t happen. As Los Angeles gets ready for the rematch, Herbert acknowledged how ugly that Wild Card performance was for him and said the only way forward is owning it, learning from it, and being better when the games actually matter again.

That mindset fits the tone coming from the other side of the ball, too.

Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter told Kris Rhim that he feels the unit is trending the right way at the exact right time, saying, “I feel like down the stretch we’ve played some of our best ball, against some really good offenses, really good quarterbacks, really good receivers. … To me, like you’re trying to peak every time you take the field this time of year.”

It’s a confident message, and it also frames why this matchup isn’t just about Herbert’s redemption arc.

Herbert’s comments, reported by Rhim, carried the kind of blunt accountability that usually shows up after a quarterback has taken his lumps. He said no one felt worse than he did after that Texans game, and that it would be “crazy” to deny what happened or try to block it out.

The point wasn’t self-pity at all. The film is the film, and the only thing that changes the story is what he does next in the postseason.

The Chargers will have to chase that “peaking” standard without linebacker Denzel Perryman for now. His two-game suspension was upheld on appeal, per Adam Schefter, leaving Los Angeles without a veteran starter over the final two weeks.

The league cited repeated violations of rules designed to protect player safety, and the timing means Perryman will be watching while the Chargers try to keep momentum heading into January.

Herbert is facing the truth of last year, and Minter believes the defense is hitting its stride. What else do the Chargers need?

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