Chargers need one win to clinch an AFC playoff berth

The Los Angeles Chargers, under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, have moved to within one victory of earning a playoff berth in the American Football Conference (AFC) after a come-from-behind victory over the Denver Broncos on December 19, on Thursday Night Football, 34-27 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The victory improved the Chargers record to 9-6, while the Broncos fell to 9-6 in the AFC West division. The Chargers own the tiebreaking advantage over the Broncos due to their sweep of the season series, the first time that has happened since 2020 and only the fifth time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Both the Chargers and the Broncos need a single win to clinch a playoff berth. The Chargers path is a bit easier, with a Saturday afternoon road game against the 3-12 New England Patriots, and a final road game in Las Vegas against the 3-12 Raiders. The Broncos have a road game in Cincinnati against the 7-8 Bengals and a home game against the 14-1 Kansas City Chiefs.

The victory over the Broncos was not achieved easily and early on, the Broncos were doing whatever they wanted to do offensively. The Broncos scored touchdowns on their first three offensive drives, with quarterback Bo Nix completing 15 of 21 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 25 rushing yards on two carries. The Broncos led 21-10 late in the second quarter and punted the ball back to Chargers with seconds left on the clock.

Punt returner Derrius Davis called for a fair catch at the 38 yard-line and made the catch with no time on the clock, but was interfered with on the catch, resulting in a 15-yard fair catch interference penalty and moving the ball to the Bronco 47-yard line. Harbaugh invoked the fair-catch rule, which allows for a free kick from that spot.

Under the rule, "If the player makes a fair catch, the receiving team may elect to extend the period with a fair catch kick but does not have the option to extend the period by a snap from scrimmage." With no player within ten yards of kicker Cam Dicker, other than the holder, JK Scott, Dickens nailed a 57-yard field goal with no time left on the clock, the longest fair catch field goal in NFL history.

It was the first successful fair catch free kick since 1976, when Chargers kicker Ray Wersching connected on a 45-yard field goal against the Buffalo Bills. This reporter watched on television as a kid and saw Mac Percival of the Chicago Bears make a 43-yard fair catch field goal to beat the Packers in 1968, 13-10. The fair catch kick rule is rarely attempted and rarely made.

The Chargers had cut the lead to 21-13 at halftime and that momentum carried over to the second half. The Broncos came out and converted a field goal to take a 24-13 lead. That is when Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took over.

The Chargers scored 21 unanswered points to take a 34-24 lead with 2:27 remaining in the game. Herbert led the Chargers on three touchdown drives, using his legs and his arm to extend drives. Herbert, who was playing on a sprained left ankle, not only ran for first downs but scrambled to find open receivers and took some hard hits along the way.

With the Chargers trailing in the fourth quarter, Herbert rolled to his left and under pressure from the Broncos pass rush, threw an off-balanced strike to Davis in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The degree of difficulty on the touchdown pass was amazing. Wide receiver Josh Palmer followed that up with an equally amazing catch on a two-point conversion, tipping Herbert's high pass to himself and keeping both feet inbounds to convert. That gave the Chargers a 27-24 fourth quarter lead.

Herbert, under pressure from the Broncos pass rush once again, stepped forward and found running back Hassan Haskins open on a check down, tossing a shovel pass to him, with Haskins taking it the distance for a 34-yard touchdown reception. The touchdown receptions by both Davis and Haskins were the first of their careers.

The win was huge for the Chargers. "We talked about it all week, how important these games are, especially in December and January and we knew the implications of it," Herbert said after the game. "We emphasized all week, 'Hey this is a playoff game to us.' It's the environment, it's the team. [The Broncos are] obviously a very talented and incredible team, so for us to be able to pull away with one there, I thought it was awesome for us."

What made the victory so special was the way so many different players stepped up to make a play. "I love these guys," Harbaugh said. "Everything about them. Especially the way they're just about their business. They work so hard, but they have fun doing it. It's awesome. Anything you can say about our guys; I just love them for it. I can probably think of a couple other things, but I'm just so darn excited right now about this win. Enjoy this one and then we'll get ready for the Patriots."

The game against the Patriots this Saturday, December 28, will start at 10:00 AM locally and will be televised on the NFL Network. The Patriots have a good young rookie quarterback in Drake Maye, the third overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Maye has been compared to Herbert in terms of his potential.

Maye's favorite receiver this season has been former Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, who leads the team in receptions with 66 and in receiving yards at 674. The Patriots lack the offensive talent to contend for a playoff berth at this point. They have averaged 17.3 points, which is 30th in the NFL. They have played well defensively at times and have been able to keep most games close. The Chargers are 4.5-point favorites, so the oddsmakers think the Patriots will be able to keep this game close.