The Chargers have been here before. Exactly one year ago, to be precise.
They had 11 regular-season victories going into their AFC wild-card game, a game they appeared to have set up against an opponent they seemed capable of defeating and moving on to the next round, to a deeper and more fulfilling playoff run in Jim Harbaugh’s first season as their coach.
Jan. 11, 2025, proved to be the end of the line, though.
The Chargers’ 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans was one of those head-scratching, mistake-filled exercises in futility that so often have characterized the franchise over the years in San Diego and now in Los Angeles. How would they regroup and rebound for the next season?
For starters, they won 11 games again, overcoming a series of injuries to key players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, who will play Sunday night against the New England Patriots exactly six weeks after fracturing his left, non-throwing hand and then undergoing stabilizing surgery.
Instead of winning their final regular-season game this past Sunday against the Denver Broncos and moving up in the seedings and perhaps even claiming the top spot, Harbaugh rested his top players and they lost, dropping into seventh and setting up a matchup with the second-seeded Patriots.
For the record, Herbert said several days ago, “Yeah, for sure” his hand was feeling better than any time since he injured it Nov. 30. ”Not taking hits on it last week was probably pretty helpful for it for the swelling and just getting back to full strength and being able to grip the football.”
A season ago, Harbaugh played his starters and they delivered a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in their regular-season finale, moving them to fifth and setting up a matchup with the fourth-seeded Texans. It didn’t go well. Herbert was intercepted four times by Houston, one more than in all of the regular season.
This past regular season, Harbaugh’s second on the job, felt similar.
Only different.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley said. “I think that we’re going against a good opponent, but I feel like it’s going to bring the best out of us, for sure. I think this is a good matchup. When I say that, I mean that I think anybody we go against is a good matchup for us.”
In many ways, the AFC looks to be wide open.
The Chargers helped to end the Kansas City Chiefs’ reign atop the conference, defeating them twice, denting their invincible aura and, ultimately, eliminating them from playoff contention with a gritty, 16-13 victory on a frigid, 15-degree afternoon Dec. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
One week earlier, the Chargers worked overtime to cast doubts on the Philadelphia Eagles’ ability to repeat as Super Bowl champions, knocking them off 22-19 with a stellar second-half defensive showing. That victory and the one over the Chiefs were the Chargers’ most impressive of the season.
Those victories also injected a renewed sense of confidence in the Chargers, their back-to-back losses to end the regular season notwithstanding. Their post-practice locker room banter hasn’t let up in the least nor has the intensity of their ping-pong or cornhole games. They appear primed for what comes next.
“I feel like you have to be confident in these situations,” Henley said. “You can’t be timid. You can’t be afraid. Because you’re going against a team that’s been dominating and the margin for error is so small. They can sense that. As soon as you show any signs of weakness, they’ll pounce.
“I know everything we’ve got right here is enough to get the job done. I’ll say it again, over and over again, I feel like it’s wide open for us.”
After all the pregame chatter about Herbert’s damaged hand and the season-ending injuries to tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater that decimated the Chargers’ offensive line and the MVP candidacy of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and New England’s resurgence, it comes down to one thing.
That’s the opinion of Chargers safety Derwin James Jr., anyway.
“Drake Maye is the MVP of the league this year,” James said. “I feel like he makes all the throws. They’ve got two great (running) backs, three wide receivers that can open and a tight end that can get open. So, they’ve got a lot of weapons, but we’ve got to make it about us. We’ve got to come out and make it about us. Turn the ball over and get the ball and give Justin Herbert as many opportunities as we can.”
CHARGERS (11-6) at PATRIOTS (14-3)
When: 5 p.m. PT Sunday
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
TV/Radio: NBC (Ch. 4)/640 AM, 94.3 FM (Spanish)