The Los Angeles Chargers continued their playoff bid with a 34-27 victory over the Denver Broncos. The Bolts scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to commit the come-from-behind victory.
A pivotal moment of the game was a rare fair catch free kick that Bolts kicker Cameron Dicker executed with success. The 57-yard kick was the first successful fair catch free kick since 1976. This is a favorite rule for Bolts head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“[I have] been trying to get one of those every game,” Harbaugh said. “That was huge, got the momentum back going into halftime.”
Safety Derwin James administered a halftime speech to encourage his teammates to compete and stay together.
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“I just want everybody in this locker room to keep believing,” James said. “Believe that it’s gonna change. Believe that we’re gonna win the game.”
This is the 12th career come-from-behind victory from the fourth phase or in overtime for Bolts quarterback Justin Herbert. He finished the evening with 284 passing yards and 28 rushing yards. He connected with wide receiver Darius Davis for one of his two touchdowns.
This was the first career touchdown catch for Davis.
“It’s not too much to think about in that moment,” Davis said. “Just secure the ball and go score the touchdown.”
Herbert noted that the catch was “an awesome play.”
“We had him on the bubble and that’s just him making a play, seeing that the pocket broke down, running upfield,” Herbert said. “We know how fast he is, how special he is when he gets the ball.”
After that touchdown, the Chargers attempted a two-point conversion with Herbert sending a dart to wideout Joshua Palmer at the back of the endzone. Palmer managed to keep his feet inbound.
“I was able to get a hand on it but then it got tipped out of my hand,” Palmer said. “When I saw how it was floating in the air, I was like: let me make sure my feet are in.”
Linebacker Daiyan Henley led the Bolts defense with 10 total tackles and seven solo hits.
“It’s the NFL, any team can win on any given day,” Henley said. “It doesn’t matter the record we’re going against, we have to win.”
The Chargers head east to clash against the New England Patriots on December 28 at 10:00am.
