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How did Justin Herbert manage to make the cross-body throw on the run that led to Derius Davis’ touchdown?
How did Joshua Palmer manage to get his right hand on a deflected pass, turn and steer the ball along the back edge of the end zone for a crucial two-point conversion?
How did the Chargers recover from a terrible first half and earn a season-clinching 34-27 victory over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium?
“Our guys,” coach Jim Harbaugh said, “just stayed the course.”
The Chargers are 9-6 and barring a one-in-a-billion disaster, they will make the playoffs.
With their remaining games against the New England Patriots (3-11) and Las Vegas Raiders (2-12), they could very well finish the regular season with 11 wins. They have already passed the Broncos and are seeded 6th in the AFC. They can officially clinch a postseason spot this weekend when the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins both lose.
The Chargers have an offense with limited weapons and a defense that can’t stop the run, but they have exceeded even the most optimistic preseason projections, showing how much Harbaugh has instilled his spirit in them in his first season as coach.
At the start of the season they lost three times in four games and responded with a four-game winning streak.
They were given a brutal reality check by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12 and bounced back with a road win over the Atlanta Falcons.
They went into their final meeting with the Broncos with another 1-3 result and responded by posting their highest score of the season.
“We’ve been talking all week about how important these games are, especially in December and January,” Herbert said. “We knew the implications and stressed all week, ‘Hey, this is a playoff game for us.'”
Harbaugh said he knew his players would show up.
Read more: The Chargers rally in the second half to defeat the Broncos and improve their AFC playoff seeding
“Our guys never wavered,” Harbaugh said.
The players echoed his thoughts as they declared their comeback against the Broncos. The Chargers were down eight points at halftime and 11 in the third quarter, but when asked what changed in the second half, they said what matters not change.
“I think we stuck with it,” running back Gus Edwards said.
Edwards only managed 18 yards in the first half, but the Chargers didn’t give up the run. Edwards totaled 50 yards combined in the third and fourth quarters.
“We have the ability to respond,” Palmer said.
The players believe in Harbaugh, and why shouldn’t they?
Harbaugh and his staff may not have been able to make up for all of the roster’s deficiencies, but they have maximized what the team has. Consider how Harbaugh exploited the obscure fair catch free kick rule to help his team score three points as time expired in the second quarter.
Was Palmer aware of this rule?
“I wasn’t,” Palmer said with a laugh, “but now I am.”
The atmosphere in the locker room was festive.
“Just a special win, a special group of guys,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh joked that the Amazon Prime broadcast team was probably unsure about which players to invite to its postgame show.
Read more: The Chargers make history with the rare fair catch kick against the Broncos
“That would have been a tough question,” Harbaugh said. “Ten guys you could have chosen from.”
He started naming them, starting with Herbert and safety Derwin James Jr. He mentioned Kendall Williamson and Dicaprio Bootle, who were called up from the practice squad.
When Harbaugh was asked about Davis’ touchdown reception, he shouted, “DD! They could have had him on the podium!”
These Chargers don’t sound like Brandon Staley’s Chargers or Anthony Lynn’s Chargers. They don’t play like Staley’s Chargers or Lynn’s Chargers.
That alone will make this a productive first season for Harbaugh, regardless of how it ends. He transformed the culture of a franchise that desperately needed a culture change and created a foundation upon which future teams will be built.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
