The Los Angeles Chargers are virtually a slam dunk for the playoffs after their quarterback treated Thursday night like a day on the courts.Despite L.A. dropping three of its past four games and having to face the sizzling Denver Broncos, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert eased his coach Jim Harbaugh’s concerns.It’s like pickup basketball coach,’’ Herbert told Harbaugh before the game.
A loose and effective Herbert led the Chargers over the Broncos, 34-27, at SoFi Stadium on Thursday. The win catapulted the Chargers to a 9-6 record, with the odds of them making the postseason on some sites swelling to 99 percent.“That’s our guy,’’ Harbaugh said of Herbert. “That was his mindset.”
Doubt was creeping into the Chargers’ noggins and why not? After streaking a 7-3 record, the competition got tougher and L.A. got softer.
That included Sunday’s embarrassing home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the first game this season in which the Chargers looked over matched. The Bucs slapped 40 points and 500 yards on the Bolts’ celebrated defense.
Harbaugh, of course, turned that negative into an opportunity for his players to show their grit. Yes, adversity had come calling, and what exactly would his charges do about it on abbreviated schedule?
The Chargers preened, all right, with Herbert heaving two second-half touchdown passes.
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