Los Angeles Chargers beat the Denver Broncos in riveting contest

In the electric atmosphere at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif., on Dec. 19, the Bolts lived up to their name. The Los Angeles Chargers hosted AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos, with the game aired on Prime "Thursday Night Football." The final score was 34-27 in favor of the Chargers.

It was a short week for the Bolts to prepare, but still a victorious and historic night. The Defense came to life in the second-half. Chargers Quarterback Justin Herbert's performance was sheer genius coupled with his incredible strength.

Coach Jim Harbaugh's message to the team, both pre-game and at halftime, was... "Give it everything you've got!"

"It was a playoff-like game," said Herbert. He was playing with an injured ankle, but it was not evident as he powered across the field and threw for 284 yards.

"Every single guy gives his all, and I give my all," Herbert said.

Coach Harbaugh commented, "Justin's ankle was sore at the beginning, but he has the strength of 10 men."

Among other scoring drives throughout the game, three players shined as they made touchdowns. Chargers wide receiver Gus Edwards made two touchdowns. Wide receiver Derius Davis and running back Hassan Haskins made one touchdown each.

"Just a total team effort – defense, offense, and special teams...energy was high," Coach Harbaugh commented.

The game was historic due to the successful 57-yard free fair-catch kick by Chargers Cameron Dicker. It was the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history, and the first executed in 48 years. The fair-catch kick is an obscure NFL rule, and the last successful kick was also made by a Chargers kicker – Ray Wersching, in 1976.

After a first quarter touchdown by the Broncos, the Chargers answered with a touchdown by Edwards. The score was 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Broncos made a second quarter touchdown. Then, a field goal by Chargers Cameron Dicker brought the score up three points, but it was still 14 to 10 in favor of the Broncos. After another Broncos touchdown, the score was 21-10.

Then...the momentum changed. Near the end of the second quarter, the Broncos punted, and the free fair-catch rule was utilized with no time left on the clock. Dicker made a successful 57-yard fair-catch kick, which gave the Chargers three points. At halftime, the score was 21-13 with the Broncos still on top. But the Chargers were energized.

The third quarter saw a field goal by the Broncos, and a touchdown by Chargers Edwards, but the 2-point conversion attempt by the Chargers failed. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 24 to 19, and the Broncos were still on top.

During the fourth quarter, wide receiver Davis caught a 19-yard pass from Herbert, and ran for a touchdown, which put the Chargers ahead by one point. Cheers from the crowd were deafening. Another 2-point conversion was attempted when Herbert threw to wide receiver Josh Palmer. Palmer, in a stellar effort, grabbed the ball with one hand in the end zone. The conversion was complete for a score of 27-24 with the Chargers leading.

With 2:27 left in the game, Herbert threw a 34-yard pass to running back Hassan Haskins for Haskins' first Chargers touchdown. The Chargers improved their lead to 34-24.

With 1:26 remaining, the Broncos completed a field goal for three points. Then, the Broncos attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by Chargers linebacker Nick Niemann.

The final score was 34-27, which put the Chargers at 9-6, and back to second in AFC West with their eyes on the Playoffs. The win made the coaches, team, and a whole lot of Charger fans very happy. Or...better said, ecstatic.

After the win, Harbaugh was beaming, "Love these guys – everything about them – they work so hard."