Justin time: Herbert plays ‘pickup basketball’ to lead Chargers in colossal win over Broncos

Jim Harbaugh met Larry David before the game on Thursday night. Then, Justin Herbert curbed the Chargers’ enthusiasm.

Following his coach’s pregame advice to play with a loose mentality, Herbert orchestrated two fourth-quarter touchdown drives and the Chargers erased a 24-13 deficit in the final 18 minutes to register a pivotal 34-24 win over the Broncos on Thursday night.

“Even though the weight of the world seems like it’s on our shoulders, it’s not. Go enjoy it,” Harbaugh said of his pregame advice to Herbert and safety Derwin James. “And Justin said, ‘It’s like pickup basketball, Coach.’ … That’s our guy.”

Their guy mounted a furious comeback, completing 11 of 16 attempts in the second half for 144 yards and two touchdowns as Los Angeles erased a 24-13 deficit. Rolling to his left with Zach Allen taking him to the ground, Herbert completed ridiculous pass to Derius Davis for a 19-yard touchdown. The throw gave the Chargers their first lead of the game, 27-24, with 12:23 left in regulation.

Then, on a perfectly executed play just before the two-minute warning, Herbert dropped a one-handed chest pass into the arms of Hassan Haskins, who went 34 yards untouched for the backbreaking touchdown.

After Bo Nix guided the Broncos to touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, Los Angeles outscored Denver 24-3 over the game’s final 33 minutes. The catalyst in that comeback was historic, the NFL’s first free-kick field goal in 48 years. Following a fair-catch interference penalty on a Denver punt late in the first half, Harbaugh sent Cameron Dicker onto the field with no time left to nail a 57-yard field goal.

Los Angeles (9-6) gets a much-needed weekend off before closing the season with consecutive road games at New England and Las Vegas. Denver (9-6) not only lost the game but also lost the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff race. Now, the first Broncos playoff game is likely in Buffalo rather than Pittsburgh or Baltimore. And that’s no guarantee, either. Either Cincinnati, Miami or Indianapolis can swipe that final playoff berth from the Broncos. The Bengals are in Denver for a Saturday game in Week 17.

For more information on the Chargers and Broncos, visit the L.A. Chargers and Denver team pages at ProFootballPost.com.