It ended with a one-handed, game-saving interception at the Chargers’ 1-yard line because what else could they have done to preserve a wild and unpredictable 22-19 victory over the Eagles in OT? Somehow, some way, safety Tony Jefferson picked off Jalen Hurts’ pass intended for Jahan Dotson.
In between, the Chargers’ Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 54-yard boot that capped a six-play, 34-yard drive to begin an overtime he had set up with a tying, 46-yard field goal with eight seconds left in regulation. Dicker also kicked field goals of 45, 34 and 31 yards.
“What a team we have,” Coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Chargers won their second in a row and improved to 9-4 overall. “They refuse to lose. ”
Herbert’s fractured and surgically-strengthened left hand was protected by a heavily-padded white glove. Although it seemed nothing could protect him from the onrushing Eagles, Herbert managed to direct three late scoring drives when it mattered most and the game was on the line.
The first drive netted Dicker’s 31-yard field goal that tied it 16-16, after Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley ran 52 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, the Eagles’ first lead of the game. The second yielded Dicker’s tying, 46-yard field goal after Jake Elliott had given the Eagles a 19-16 lead with a 44-yard kick.
The third set up what proved to be the winning kick.
Herbert completed 12 of 26 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his first game since undergoing surgery on a fractured left hand suffered during the Chargers’ victory Nov. 30 over the Las Vegas Raiders. He also ran 10 times Monday for a team-leading 66 yards.
“He’s a superhero, he’s a competitive maniac,” Harbaugh said. “He was even stiff-arming guys with a broken hand. He had surgery a week ago and he’s out there tonight and it felt like I was in a movie where, you know, the quarterback is doing things and where you go, OK, this is getting a little unrealistic.”
Herbert said he had zero doubt that he would play.
“Probably Sunday of last week,” he said when asked when he knew when he was going to play, referring to the Chargers’ 31-14 victory over the Raiders. “I tried to be as up front about it as possible. They (the medical staff) said there’s a procedure that needs to be done and you should be good to go by Monday.”
The Chargers’ victory was hardly a one-man show, though.
Dicker was flawless on five kicks and Jefferson plucked a pass out of midair with his right arm after teammate Cam Hart deflected Hurts’ pass on a 1st-and-10 from the Chargers’ 17-yard line. Hart, defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and cornerback Dante Jackson also intercepted Hurts.
The Chargers seemed to make Hurts uncomfortable from the opening minutes. Hurts completed 21 of 40 passes for 240 yards. Barkley rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, but he only broke free once, racing 52 yards down the left sidelined for a 16-13 lead with 14:51 left in the fourth.
The Chargers led 10-6 by halftime, but their lead could have been wider.
The first half was unevenly played in too many ways to mention, but it might have been best summed up by an unusual sequence in the second quarter that featured an interception and two fumbles that resulted in a first down for the Chargers at their own 43-yard line with 8:19 remaining.
Hand intercepted Hurts’ pass at his own 17 and then began running up the field. He didn’t get far before the Eagles’ Will Shipley forced him to fumble. Hurts picked up the ball at the 32, but the Chargers’ Jamaree Caldwell then forced him to fumble at the 33.
Finally, with the ball rolling free toward midfield, the Chargers’ Troy Dye smothered the ball at the 43, putting an end to a comical chase. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hurts is the first player to commit two turnovers on the same play dating to 1978, which is as far back as its research goes.
The Chargers capitalized on the turnover by extending their lead to 10-3 on Dicker’s 45-yard field goal.
Herbert had given the Chargers a 7-0 lead with an electric opening drive that included a scramble and then a make-it-up-as-you-go screen pass to running back Kimani Vidal for a 60-yard gain. Omarion Hampton’s first carry after being activated from injured reserve resulted in an 11-yard gain.
Hampton then caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Herbert with 8:49 left in the first half.
