ARLINGTON, Texas — The Chargers are under the radar and over the moon.
They are methodically compiling victories — the latest, Sunday’s 34-17 thumping of the Dallas Cowboys — and perfectly content on the fringes of the national spotlight.
Lots of people wrote them off when those offensive linemen started falling like tall timber, yet the Chargers have found ways to win in spite of that. Seven times in eight games they have walked away victorious, keeping them in the running for the top seed in the AFC.
“We’re not worried about the outside noise,” said edge rusher Khalil Mack, part of a defense that has pitched second-half shutouts two weeks in a row. “Not getting too high, not getting too low. Staying even-keeled and trying to stack wins.”
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Sam Farmer breaks down what went right for the Chargers in their 34-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Despite all that success, the Chargers (11-4) had yet to cement a spot in the postseason by the time they boarded the bus from AT&T Stadium to the airport. They needed a loss or tie by Houston — which beat Las Vegas later Sunday — or by Indianapolis, playing host to San Francisco on Monday night.
As for the Cowboys (6-8), they were eliminated from playoff contention the week before. They were playing for pride and had the NFL’s No. 1 offense, which showed up with Dak Prescott touchdown passes in the first two quarters.
But the quarterback of note in this game was Justin Herbert, who threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and plunged across the goal line for another score. He also had a 34-yard scramble up the middle, the longest of the game, which ended with a violent collision that had him prone and wincing for a moment.
It looked as if he might have reinjured his surgically repaired left hand on that play, although he later clarified he banged his elbow on the turf.
“He’s doing things game after game that are reserved for only the best who have ever played the game,” coach Jim Harbaugh said of Herbert.
Those two have a ritual before every game. It happens after Herbert throws warmup routes to his receivers and retreats to the locker room. But when the entire team reemerges as one, Herbert throws a series of passes to his coach, himself once an NFL quarterback.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh throws a football before Sunday’s win over the Cowboys.
(Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Harbaugh doesn’t run the routes, per se, but he positions himself where the receiver would be catching the ball on a given pattern, then latches onto a laser from Herbert.
“There’s something cool about, you know, being able to throw to him pregame, where you have the head guy and he’s out catching passes from you, and it gives you a bit of a routine,” Herbert said.
“And I can hear him talking and hyping everyone up.”
It’s that sort of inspirational energy the Chargers were looking for when they hired Harbaugh, who has an established record of turning around franchises. The Chargers made the playoffs in his debut season but were taken apart at Houston. Now, in Harbaugh’s second season, they’re looking to break through in the postseason.
“Coach Harbaugh said we’re in a position to be in a position,” said Herbert, who has yet to win a playoff game, “and I think that’s all you can ask for — where we’re playing meaningful football in December.”
Unlike most of their other wins, when either the offense or defense owned the day, the Chargers won Sunday with strong performances on both sides of the ball. They rolled up 152 yards on the ground, 300 in the air, and the defense limited the Cowboys to 129 yards in the second half.
Twice in the second half they forced turnovers on downs.
“We came in here at halftime and we made a decision that we’re all just going to lock in,” Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman said. “We just played together, actually communicated and played our style of football. The defense came together in the second half.”
Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. celebrates after a win over the Cowboys on Sunday.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
The Chargers got touchdown receptions by both of their starting receivers, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, who made an effortless, one-handed grab, and also four catches by rookie receiver Tre’ Harris. And rookie Omarion Hampton led all rushers with 85 yards and a touchdown.
Hampton had been rotating with Kimani Vidal, but took over full-time duties in the second half after Vidal walked off the field slowly yet unassisted with an apparent neck injury.
The Chargers close the regular season with a home game against Houston and a finale against Denver, rigorous tests against two of the best defenses in the league.
They don’t mind the lack of fanfare. They prefer to operate in the relative quiet, as quiet as the cavernous home of the Cowboys at game’s end.
