ARLINGTON, Texas — Jim Harbaugh said he could tell right away that Justin Herbert had great stuff during their pregame warmup together, but he didn’t know precisely how great it would turn out to be during the Chargers’ 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
“He was on fire starting with the pregame,” Harbaugh said after Herbert’s best passing game since before fracturing his left, non-throwing hand during the first quarter of the Chargers’ victory Nov. 30 over the Las Vegas Raiders. “So much good, good, good, good, good, good.”
Herbert didn’t cool in the least once the game started, completing 23 of 29 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns and rushing eight times for 42 yards and one TD. He led the Chargers to scores on their first four possessions and five of six, shredding a porous Cowboys defense.
Herbert also moved the Chargers closer to a playoff berth with the victory.
“He’s great in every warmup, but he was dialed in the whole time,” Harbaugh said. “Fantastic quarterback play. It’s definitely MVP caliber. He’s doing things game after game that are reserved for only the best that are in the game and have ever played the game.”
So, Harbaugh knew what was coming even if the Cowboys had no clue.
It’s unusual for an NFL head coach to warm up with his starting quarterback, but that’s been their routine up to an hour before kickoff during Harbaugh’s two seasons as coach. Harbaugh routinely puts on a pair of gloves and acts as a target as Herbert gets activated with his pinpoint throws.
“Way to spin it,” Herbert said when asked what Harbaugh says to him.
“You go into every game thinking you’re going to have a good game,” Herbert added. “So, I’m glad he thought that. There is something cool about being able to throw to him in pregame (warmups) where, you know, you have the head coach and he’s out there to catch passes from you. It gives you a bit of a routine.
“So, I think it’s really cool.”
The Chargers needed Herbert to throw his spirals on target if they were to win their fourth consecutive game after their bye in Week 12, their seventh in their past eight and their 11th in 15 games overall. They also needed a victory to edge closer to their second consecutive playoff appearance.
In the simplest terms, the Chargers needed either the Raiders to defeat the Houston Texans later Sunday afternoon or the San Francisco 49ers to defeat Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night to clinch. Otherwise, they would have to wait until next weekend.
The Chargers play host to the Texans, the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. The Chargers then conclude the regular season with a game against the AFC West-leading Broncos either Jan. 3 or 4, depending on the NFL’s flexible schedule.
No question, the Chargers did their part Sunday, and with Herbert leading them. He threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Quentin Johnston, who made a one-handed catch in the end zone, and 25 yards to Ladd McConkey, who slipped behind the Cowboys’ leaky pass defense. Herbert also ran 1 yard for a TD.
So much for the first half.
The Chargers built a 21-17 lead by halftime and then shut out their opponent in the second half for the second consecutive game. They blanked Kansas City in the second half of their 16-13 victory Dec. 14, a win that eliminated the Super Bowl runner-up Chiefs from the playoffs.
Cameron Dicker kicked field goals of 37 and 27 yards and running back Omarion Hampton scored on a 5-yard run in the second half, and the Chargers were never in serious jeopardy. Two fourth-down stops in the second half, including one on a fourth-and-1 at their own 16, sealed the deal.
Defensive linemen Da’Shawn Hand and Jamaree Caldwell combined to stop Dallas fullback Hunter Luepke for no gain, giving the Chargers the ball back and preserving their 24-17 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. It ended the Cowboys’ last promising possession.
The second half proved to be far different from the first.
The Chargers’ defense struggled to contain Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and their offense in the first half. Prescott threw touchdown passes to wide receivers Ryan Flournoy and George Pickens in the first half and Brandon Aubrey kicked a 33-yard field goal for Dallas (6-8-1).
Herbert kept the Chargers moving in the right direction with his arm and his feet. His 34-yard scramble on third-and-7 from his own 32-yard line kept a fourth-quarter drive alive, setting up the second of Dicker’s two field goals. He later said he banged his elbow on the turf, not his fractured left hand.
“Great team win,” Harbaugh said. “We played pretty close to our best.”