FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When it was done and Justin Herbert had thrown three touchdown passes, and the Chargers had routed the New England Patriots, 40-7, and clinched an AFC wild-card berth, coach Jim Harbaugh sought out general manager Joe Hortiz inside a boisterous locker room Saturday.
Harbaugh laid a bearhug on Hortiz.
“I love you, man,” he said, smiling as he thumped Hortiz on the back.
Clinching a playoff berth was one significant step, but hardly the final one.
The Chargers’ work is not done, they said, as if in unison.
“Eleven is better than 10,” Harbaugh said.
The Chargers (10-6) play the Raiders (3-12) next weekend in Las Vegas with a chance to go 11-6 in their first season with Harbaugh as coach and Hortiz as GM. There are a number of scenarios that must play out in the final days of the regular season, but the Chargers could move as high as the No. 5 seed.
At present, the Chargers are seeded sixth and would be matched against the Baltimore Ravens, setting up Harbaugh Bowl 4.0. John Harbaugh and the Ravens defeated Jim and the Chargers 30-23 in Week 12 at SoFi Stadium, giving John a 3-0 record against his younger brother.
No question, the Chargers players said Saturday, the impact Harbaugh has had on the team since his hiring this past January was as remarkable as it was to understate. There would be no repeat of the Chargers’ 5-12 record, which prompted Brandon Staley’s firing and Harbaugh’s hiring.
Staley and GM Tom Telesco were fired Dec. 2, 2023, after a 63-21 loss to the Raiders, leaving the Chargers with a 5-9 record with three games to play. The Chargers lost all three under interim coach Giff Smith as it became clear in the final days that Harbaugh would be targeted to replace Staley.
“It was guys hoping and praying for Jim to be our head coach,” Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley said. “Once we moved on from our last coach (Staley) … we heard his name was in the draw and it was, like, “Please, let it be Jim, please let it be Jim.’ No shot against the other guys, but we were hoping for Jim.”
Why?
“We just saw a winner,” Henley said.
Harbaugh turned around the San Francisco 49ers in his first NFL coaching stint and did the same more recently with the University of Michigan. He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in his second season, losing to John and the Ravens, and guided the Wolverines to the national championship in 2023.
“Now here we are,” Henley said.
The Chargers’ mission was straightforward Saturday. Win or tie and they would advance to the playoffs next month. Herbert got the Chargers pointed in the right direction on a raw New England afternoon, throwing for 190 yards and two touchdowns as they took a commanding 20-7 halftime lead.
Derius Davis caught a 23-yard touchdown pass for one score and Ladd McConkey caught a 6-yard pass for another, and Cameron Dicker kicked field goals of 27 and 38 yards. The Chargers never seemed to be in jeopardy after the opening minutes, leading 17-0 until the closing minutes of the half.
Drake Maye’s 36-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas injected some life into the proceedings, cutting the Chargers’ lead to 17-7 with 1:24 left in the half. Herbert promptly drove the Chargers to Dicker’s 38-yard field goal and a 20-7 lead with two seconds remaining in the half.
The Chargers then turned the game into a runaway in the third quarter, with Herbert throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass to McConkey and Dicker booting a 41-yard field goal for a 30-7 lead with 5:43 left in the period. Herbert completed 26 of 38 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns by game’s end.
J.K. Dobbins returned to the Chargers’ backfield after a four-game stint on injured reserve because of a sprained knee and he rushed for 76 yards and a 2-yard touchdown on 19 carries. Dobbins’ touchdown and Dicker’s extra point extended the lead to 37-7 with 11:58 left in the game.
Taylor Heinicke replaced Herbert on the Chargers’ next possession.
Dicker’s 35-yard field goal with 3:47 left accounted for the final score.
After the game, Herbert gave credit where he believed it was due.
“I think Coach Harbaugh and our general manager, Joe Hortiz, have done such a great job of getting the right guys here,” he said. “You look in the locker room and everybody plays for each other. The respect we have for everyone in the building, in our locker room, the coaching staff, player personnel staff, it’s been an honor to play for them, alongside them, because everyone is doing their best, and it showed (Saturday).”