The Chargers have done the heavy lifting and now they can clinch an AFC wild-card berth without moving a muscle. Then again, it might be a big ask for the Indianapolis Colts and the Miami Dolphins to lose their games Sunday while the Chargers watch from afar.
If it doesn’t happen Sunday, if the Colts defeat the Tennessee Titans and the Dolphins beat the San Francisco 49ers, then the Chargers can handle their business with either a victory in Week 17 over the New England Patriots and/or a win in Week 18 over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers (9-6) put themselves in a position to clinch a spot in the postseason with a come-from-behind 34-27 victory Thursday night over the Denver Broncos (9-6). Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next after quarterback Justin Herbert fashioned a signature win:
In time, as the seasons pass, Herbert’s strike to a streaking Derius Davis for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter Thursday night might rank up there in franchise history with any miraculous throw from a bygone era from John Hadl or Dan Fouts or Stan Humphries or Philip Rivers.
It was, without a doubt, one of the more remarkable touchdown passes Herbert has thrown in five seasons in the NFL, all with the Chargers. The accuracy of his pass was one thing. The timing of his throw was another. The way he avoided pressure to deliver a dart was one more aspect.
“I wouldn’t argue with that,” Jim Harbaugh said when asked if that was the best pass he’d seen Herbert throw during his first season on the job as the Chargers’ coach. “I would not only not argue with that. I would agree”
How could he? How could anyone?
Herbert dropped to pass and then scrambled to his left, feeling the pressure from the Broncos. As he neared the sideline, he spotted Davis running to the end zone. In a nanosecond, and without planting his feet to set himself, Herbert whipped a pass across his body to Davis for a touchdown.
Herbert would later say he never saw the completion. Broncos defensive end Zach Allen thumped him to the SoFi Stadium turf. The roar of the crowd told Herbert all he needed to know. Davis had caught the pass to give the Chargers a 25-24 lead with 12:23 remaining.
Passes like that aren’t supposed to be accurate. It’s not natural for a right-handed thrower to roll out to his left and deliver a throw that’s on the money. Now, add the fact that Herbert was nursing a sprained left ankle, a sore left knee and a left thigh contusion, and it becomes all the more amazing.
Backup quarterback Easton Stick smiled and said, “Every day in practice,” when asked if he’d seen anything like that pass from Herbert. What happened next might have been even more amazing: a 2-point conversion pass from Herbert to Joshua Palmer that featured two tips and a toe-tap at the end line.
Then there was the shovel pass Herbert tossed to running back Hassan Haskins that Haskins turned into a 34-yard touchdown catch-and-run to give the Chargers a commanding 34-24 lead with 2:27 left. It capped a six-play, 90-yard drive over 2:01 that sealed the deal.
It’s a team game, to be sure, but how far the Chargers go this season depends on how well Herbert plays, especially in crunch time, when the games are on the line and it matters most. If he works the sort of fourth-quarter magic he performed Thursday, then all things seem possible.
Cameron Dicker was as prepared as anyone for his fair-catch free-kick attempt on the final play of the first half, the first successful such kick in almost 50 years. In fact, he and the Chargers’ special teams unit practice it almost every week, thanks to Harbaugh’s special interest in the rule.
“It was a normal thing for us,” Dicker said, smiling after kicking a 57-yard field goal that would have been 65 yards if the Chargers had lined up in a normal formation instead of the kickoff-like formation for the free kick. “Looking over at their sidelined, they were confused as to what was going on.”
The Chargers hit the road to play the Patriots (3-11) in Week 17 and the Raiders (2-12) in Week 18, teams eliminated from contention. Victories over both teams could propel the Chargers as high as fifth in the AFC playoff seedings, avoiding a likely snowy date with either the Buffalo Bills or Pittsburgh Steelers.
