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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Four weeks ago, the Los Angeles Chargers felt humiliated after their most lopsided loss of Jim Harbaugh's tenure as coach. The players in the locker room afterward were silent and frustrated -- a familiar place for an organization searching for consistency.
That loss, however, became a turning point. It reshaped the Chargers' bye week and forced an internal reckoning.
"It ain't time to chill, man. We got work to do," Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack said then.
After Sunday's 16-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chargers (10-4) have won three in a row since their 35-6 loss to Jacksonville, including wins over both teams that played in February's Super Bowl -- Kansas City and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chargers have surged thanks to their defense, which has shut down offenses, forced turnovers and rattled some of the league's best quarterbacks.
On Sunday, that defense ended a decade of dominance by the Chiefs -- officially eliminating them from playoff contention -- and made a statement to the rest of the league that this unit could carry the Chargers deep into the playoffs.
"The s--- we put on tape before the bye week wasn't us," Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley�said. "It wasn't our identity. It showed a lackluster team, a team that we feel like we are not. And so these past few weeks, we've been trying to prove to ourselves more than anybody else outside the building who we are, what our identity is."
Few Chargers know the frustration of playing in Kansas City better than safety�Derwin James Jr. Drafted in 2018, James has endured years of losses at Arrowhead Stadium. But Sunday felt different. James compared it to one of Harbaugh's favorite proverbs, "the worm has turned," which means things have changed.
"We just trying to get the worm turned around all the way, man," James said with a smile. "And start winning these games, and coming into the game where they like, 'The Chargers are going to go out and win. Versus like, 'Ah, we don't know what Chargers team we're going to get.' or the 'Chargers are going to Charger.' We are just trying to be a team that can be dominant, that you can count on."
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| Derwin James Jr.'s interception late in the fourth quarter secured the win for the Chargers. |
The Chargers' defensive renaissance began against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13.�In that game, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter showed fronts he hadn't used all season; Henley played 16 snaps at outside linebacker, the most of his career.
The results were immediate. The Chargers allowed season lows in total yards (156) and rushing yards (31), producing one of their best defensive performances of the season.
"Another really good game by Jesse," Harbaugh said after that win. "I mean, I thought those adjustments, those tighter coverages, we were really going for that."
The Chargers'�22-19 overtime win over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles the following week cemented the transformation. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had thrown two interceptions all season, was unrecognizable.
Hurts threw a career-high four interceptions and lost a fumble. It was the worst game of his career, and it ended with an overtime interception on a ball deflected by cornerback Cam Hart that Tony Jefferson�caught.
That dominance continued Sunday against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose off-script brilliance often puts defenses in impossible situations. The Chargers rushed with discipline, limiting his escapes and collapsing the pocket when he tried to extend plays.
Los Angeles sacked Mahomes five times and pressured him on 17 dropbacks -- a 49% pressure rate, the highest he has faced this season. When pressured, Mahomes was 4-of-10 for 53 yards with an interception, according to ESPN Research. Mahomes left the game in the fourth quarter with a torn ACL.�
"I'm Jesse Minter's biggest fan," Harbaugh said. "I don't know of anybody who's a bigger fan of Jesse Minter than I am."
Though the Chargers' defense is surging, the offense has remained inconsistent and, over the past two weeks, has been hard to watch. Quarterback Justin Herbert has consistently been under pressure while playing with a broken hand, and Chargers receivers have struggled to get separation. L.A. has scored two touchdowns over the past two weeks.
And yet, the Chargers have won anyway.
"This year, they've took it to a whole other level," Herbert said of the defense.
The Chargers' schedule doesn't get much easier, with games against the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans�and Denver Broncos to close the season. But for the first time in 2025, it doesn't appear that this team is searching for an identity. The Chargers found it in a defense that is peaking at the right time and could propel them to a deep postseason run.
"This is the best defense that I've been on," James said.
