The heat was blistering, the fans were jeering, the knockout punch was looming.
Late Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium, the stage was set for the continuation of a long-standing tradition fostered by a certain local team’s consistent meltdowns.
Except these Chargers didn’t “Charger.”
These Chargers “Harbaughed.”
These Chargers fought back when the Las Vegas Raiders pushed them around, these Chargers stood up when the Raiders knocked them down, these Chargers found their strength when their ancestors have typically lost their will.
These Chargers “Harbaughed,” which translated into using inspiration from their new coach to outslug the Raiders, 22-10, in a season opener that came with a statement.
Jim Harbaugh is the real deal.
The culture change is real. The locker-room belief is real. The results are real.
“We knew what we had to do,” said tackle Rashawn Slater. “And we did it.”
What they had to do was overcome a dreary first half and a late Raider charge to win in the fourth quarter. That’s exactly what they did, finishing two long touchdown drives in the final 15 minutes to create a new identity for this long-maligned franchise.
“When we had to be our best, we were our best,” said Harbaugh afterward outside a noisy locker room filled with giddy hope. “Being at your best when your best is needed most … John Wooden … coach Wooden there.”
He quotes the great philosophers, but he turns his players into street fighters, and that’s what he’s done here.
These Chargers will run the ball down your throat, ignoring the arm of great young quarterback Justin Herbert to slug it out in the trenches. They gained 176 yards rushing, 32 more yards than Herbert gained through the air, including two long J.K. Dobbins rumbles that won the game.
These Chargers also will chase you into submission, with a defense so real they freaked Raiders coach Antonio Pierce into a horrible fourth-down call that cemented the outcome.
With rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack finally healthy and causing havoc, the Raiders were held to 296 yards, committed three turnovers, and were exposed as fake tough guys.
These Chargers are truly a mirror image of the smart and sturdy Harbaugh, who they hired in the winter after he won a national championship at the University of Michigan.
Everywhere Harbaugh has gone — University of San Diego, Stanford, San Francisco 49ers, Michigan — he has created big winners. If Sunday’s opener was any indication, it’s going to happen here, too.
Even though the crowd was mostly Raiders fans as usual, this game felt different. Even though the Chargers were outscored by a point in an uncomfortable first half played in 90-plus degree temperatures, they never seemed tired or beaten.
Just last December, this team was embarrassed by the Raiders in a 63-21 walloping. On Sunday that felt like ancient history.
Just two seasons ago, this team blew a 27-point lead in a playoff game in Jacksonville. On Sunday, this was like a different franchise.
They held a 9-7 lead late in the third quarter and needed a long drive to hold it. They got one, going 61 yards in six plays that ended with Dobbins running through a huge hole for a touchdown.
Then, after the Raiders stunningly punted from the Charger 43-yard line midway through the quarter, they needed another long drive to clinch it.
Boom! Done — 92 yards in eight plays that featured a 61-yard dash by Dobbins.
Herbert finally got involved at the end of the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ladd McConkey, but the star quarterback spent most of the day just managing the game instead of trying to win it.
That was just fine with him.
“Where we’ve been … there’s times we go three-and-out and punt the ball and things go a different way,” said Herbert. “To drive the ball like that, and the defense to come up with a big stop, that was awesome to see.”
A new day. A new kind of quarterback. And, yeah, it’s all about a new coach.
The influence of Harbaugh was epitomized late in the game when the two teams briefly scuffled behind the end zone. Seemingly every Charger attempted to sprint from the bench to join the fray, a sort of teamwork not seen in recent years. And joining that charge was, of course, Harbaugh.
“It’s a real energy from the guys … to have a guy leading the charge like that and a locker room that buys in and follows him. … It’s a special day,” said Herbert.
Harbaugh set an example for his new team even before the opening kick. In suffocating temperatures, he showed up in a white polo shirt buttoned all the way to the top. And afterward, there was no sign of sweat.
“He sets the tone for the whole program,” said Slater. “His message comes from the top down, he’s been so consistent with it, never a doubt with him.”
That message involves the entire team, as he spent his postgame news conference thanking nearly everyone on the depth chart and heartily praising every facet of the attack.
The defense?
“That really put the flavor on this game,” he said.
The running attack?
“Great commitment, running the ball, a lot of confidence in the offensive line, they’re the tip of the spear,” he said. “We feel like we can attack with that group … we love ’em.”
In keeping with his theme of inclusivity, Harbaugh claimed he hasn’t created a culture. He claimed this kind of tough atmosphere already was present when he arrived.
“I’ll say, on behalf of all the new guys … we are the lucky ones,” he said, later adding, “The culture is already here … the culture here is work … they ask no quarter, they give no quarter, they’re everything you want.”
It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s wholly unsubstantiated. The Chargers had great locker room leaders and talent before Harbaugh, sure. But nothing like this.
A different team. A reborn future. A new vocabulary.
Attacking. Defending. “Harbaughing.”
