FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The MVP chants for the second-year quarterback of the New England Patriots rang throughout Gillette Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Chargers, meanwhile, had been haunted by their own echoes.

Another playoff recreation. Another one-and-done exit.

The gutty season of quarterback Justin Herbert again ended with a whimper, a 16-3 loss on a evening when the Chargers protection supplied ample alternatives.

“We have to do better than three points,” Herbert said. “As an offense, that’s not good enough. The quarterback play wasn’t good enough, and we let the defense down today.”

Three years in the past was the nuclear meltdown at Jacksonville, when the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead to lose, 31-30.

Last yr, the first under coach Jim Harbaugh, Herbert was picked off 4 occasions at Houston after making it through the common season with just three interceptions.

Now, the Chargers have all offseason to ponder the fiasco at Foxborough, when they generated one area purpose, 207 yards and transformed one of 10 third downs.

The cover-your-eyes postseason scorecard under Harbaugh: Two video games, 15 factors on three area targets, one landing and a failed conversion.

Asked after the New England loss if the approaching offseason adjustments may embody altering out offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Harbaugh was notably noncommittal.

“Right now I don’t have the answers,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to look at that.”

The juxtaposition between the Chargers and Patriots is stark. The Chargers are exactly where they had been a yr in the past, groping for solutions about how to win a postseason recreation.

The Patriots received just 4 video games last season but bumped that to 14 this yr — one of three groups in NFL historical past to improve by at least 10 video games in 12 months — and now advance to play host to Monday evening’s winner between Houston and Pittsburgh.

As good as Herbert was all season — notably taking part in behind a patchwork offensive line and with a damaged left hand — he appeared misplaced in space Sunday, unable to join with his receivers or set up something close to an offensive rhythm.

Former Chargers tight end Hunter Henry catches a landing cross in the fourth quarter for the Patriots. It was the sport’s only landing.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

He threw for 120 yards and oversaw an offense whose possessions ended thusly: punt, turnover on downs, area purpose, punt, end of half, punt, punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs.

It’s not as if the Patriots had been a lot better. The Chargers largely shut them down on offense, but New England was in a position to cobble together three area targets and a landing by tight end Hunter Henry, who, in a tormenting twist, started his profession with the Chargers.

But Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was more calm and in command than Herbert despite two fumbles (one misplaced) and an interception on a cross that was batted at the road of scrimmage.

“Credit to Drake Maye,” Chargers security Derwin James Jr. said. “Every time we got to him, he got back up. Every time his team needed a play today, he used his legs.”

In fact, the quarterbacks had been the main rushers, with Maye operating for 66 yards and Herbert 57. The Patriots acquired 53 more from Rhamondre Stevenson, whereas the Chargers couldn’t mount something of a true operating recreation.

When groups win, they spend the offseason making an attempt to keep their rosters together. When they lose, it’s back to the drafting board. The Chargers are in the latter class.

In a locker room so quiet you may hear a dream drop, linebacker Daiyan Henley said Harbaugh thanked his gamers after the sport.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is slow to get up after being sacked in the fourth quarter against the Patriots on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“There was a lot of confidence going into this game,” Henley said. “I think the feeling and vibe you’re getting in this locker room right now is that it’s over and that this team is going to change. Everybody is aware that our defense is going to surely change.

“When you have a core group of guys like this, everybody holds a lot of pride in what we do. So to know that we lost and the season is over and this locker room is going to change — and upstairs may change — it hurts more.”

Henley said Harbaugh thanked his gamers after the sport, particularly for the best way they fought all season despite the assorted hurdles in their path.

“It sucks because this is how the season ends, so when you talk about processing a loss like this, the process lasts longer,” Henley said.

“You go out on a loss, I’ll be thinking about it until I can go out and get my next win.”