Halftime speech by Derwin James could be key to a late-season push by the Chargers

If the Los Angeles Chargers are able to put together a late-season run and advance far in the playoffs, a big reason will be what Derwin James Jr. did at halftime Thursday night.

With the Chargers trailing the Denver Broncos 21-13 and playing their worst stretch of football this season, it was the seventh-year safety who addressed the team at halftime instead of coach Jim Harbaugh.

Whatever James said, his teammates took it to heart, rallying for a 34-27 victory and nearly wrapping up their second postseason appearance in three years.

“Derwin was great in the locker room at halftime,” Harbaugh said. “The energy was high right from the beginning and it never wavered.”

James had many reasons to be miffed at halftime. The Chargers were outscored 48-13 in four quarters that included the second half against Tampa Bay and the first half against Denver.

Even worse, the defense had a stretch where it had allowed scores on 13 of 18 drives (including eight touchdowns) and forced only two punts in seven quarters.

“I feel like, as players, we need to take it upon ourselves. This is our team, too,” James said. “And I feel like, man, my message was simple. Man, it’s time for us to play ball. And I feel like, as a team, we just came out and did that. It was nothing rah, rah, rah. It was just: ‘It’s time to go, man. It’s time for us to play our best ball in December, January.’ I feel like we did that today.”

The Chargers got contributions from all three phases in the second half as they stopped a slide of three losses in four games.

Justin Herbert and the offense scored on three of their first four possessions in the second half. They got production from the running game, which had become nonexistent since J.K. Dobbins’ knee injury, and Herbert made a great cross-body throw off his back foot to Derius Davis for a 19-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to put Los Angeles on top.

The defense held Denver to 107 yards in the second half after allowing 229 in the first.

Special teams started the rally on the final play of the first half when Cameron Dicker became the first kicker in 48 years to make a fair-catch kick, doing so from 57 yards.

“I feel like we showed that we can win in many different ways — whether it’s the defense, it’s the offense, special teams, in prime-time games — we’ve showed that and just want to keep that going,” James said.

Los Angeles (9-6) has a 97% probability of making the playoffs, according to the NFL, and holds the sixth seed in the AFC after beating Denver. That would likely mean a trip to Pittsburgh or Baltimore for the wild-card round, but it beats the alternative of heading to Kansas City or Buffalo as the seventh seed.

The Chargers would lock down their second playoff trip in three years with losses Sunday by Indianapolis and Miami.

Los Angeles is on the road the final two weeks but will be favored against New England and Las Vegas.

What’s working

According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Justin Herbert used play action on 17 of his 36 dropbacks against the Broncos, with the 47.2% rate being a career high. He was 12 of 15 for 155 yards and was sacked twice. Herbert is second in the league in passing yards on play action (1,339), trailing only Detroit’s Jared Goff (1,539) going into Sunday’s games.

What needs help

After allowing only one touchdown on an opening drive in the first 12 games, the Chargers have given up two touchdowns and a field goal on the first possession in the last three games. Los Angeles also allowed touchdowns on the first three drives for the first time this season against the Broncos.

Stock up

RB Gus Edwards had a season-high 68 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. His 43-yard run during the fourth quarter put the Chargers back in Broncos’ territory and set the stage for Herbert’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Hassan Haskins, which extended Los Angeles’ lead to 34-24 and put the game out of reach.

Stock down

C Bradley Bozeman allowed a season-high six quarterback pressures and also struggled in run blocking. The Chargers weren’t able to get much on runs up the middle until Edwards’ 43-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Injuries

S Marcus Maye (ankle) and LB Denzel Perryman (hamstring) were injured in the first half and did not return. RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) and S Alohi Gilman will be eligible to come off injured reserve next week.

Key numbers

12 — Fourth-quarter or overtime comeback wins by Herbert, which is the third most in the league since 2020.

40 — Yards needed by Ladd McConkey to become the first Chargers rookie receiver with 1,000 yards since Keenan Allen in 2013.

What’s next

The Chargers get a mini bye before heading to Foxborough, Massachusetts, for the second straight year to face the Patriots.