Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers continue to rise by defeating their old nemesis

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Jim Harbaugh loves high-fives and calls it one of humanity’s greatest inventions. But sometimes even this warm gesture isn’t enough.

When the Chargers coach saw the team’s general manager slip out of the visitors’ locker room on Saturday – after the club’s most lopsided win in five years – he invited him into a tumultuous hug.

The Chargers clinched a playoff spot with their 40-7 win over the New England Patriots, and Harbaugh felt the urge to wrap his arms around first-year general manager Joe Hortiz. This is the delirium of an NFL team starting to hit its stride at the right time.

“I needed a hug from Joe,” said the coach who lured Hortiz from the Baltimore Ravens. “He’s the same brilliant guy every day. He doesn’t do deep, long bows. But he should do it.”

That’s not a finish line, of course, but Harbaugh’s Chargers have checked a big box on their to-do list. The franchise has secured a spot in the postseason for just the third time in 11 seasons and, with the Finals remaining in Las Vegas, has a chance to clinch the AFC’s fifth seed with a win and a loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18 a cheaper wild card game in Houston, as opposed to cold openers in Buffalo or Baltimore.

There’s also value in clinching a playoff spot with a win at New England, even if these Patriots are a shadow of the version led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. This is a franchise that has tormented the Chargers in recent years, handing Marty Schottenheimer’s San Diego Chargers a 14-2 divisional round knockout in the 2006 season and defeating the struggling Chargers in the AFC championship game the following year.

There is no one left in the Chargers locker room from that era. Most of the players were probably in elementary school at this point. Still, it was important that these players emerged from the fog that had settled over Gillette Stadium and carved a clear path to the postseason.

That’s exactly what the Chargers owners had in mind when they hired Harbaugh, an undeniable turnaround artist. Just check his story. The San Francisco 49ers were 6-10 the year before they hired Harbaugh and 13-3 in his first season. The Michigan Wolverines improved from 5-7 to 10-3 in his debut season under Harbaugh.

“Coach Harbaugh is a winner, that says it all,” Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton said. “He won all his life, every team he coached. He told us at the beginning that there is only one way to get where he wants to be and that is hard work. We worked hard.”

When Harbaugh was asked at the podium about the similarities between the teams that reversed course, he immediately pointed to his players, “stalwarts” as he calls them, including quarterback Justin Herbert and safety Derwin James.

Later, after most of the team had left the locker room to head to the bus, Harbaugh repeated this, saying, “Without good players, there are no good coaches. There are no great coaches with bad players.”

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert congratulates Ladd McConkey (15) on his six-yard touchdown catch against the Patriots in the second quarter. McConkey had eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

(Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)

One of those standouts on Saturday was rookie receiver Ladd McConkey, who had eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. That brought his total to 77 receptions for 1,046, six more receptions than former Chargers rookie record holder Keenan Allen.

The Chargers traded up to the second pick in the second round and selected McConkey, a University of Georgia standout. Your trading partner in this deal? The Patriots used the fifth pick in this round to sign Washington receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. McConkey had seven more yards and the same number of touchdowns Saturday as Polk had all season.

Asked if a small part of him wanted to show the Patriots what they had missed, McConkey said: “That’s not me. If they want to think about it like, ‘Oh, we should have done that,’ it’s, ‘Shoulda, coulda, woulda.’

Historically, it’s important for teams to be able to run the ball in the postseason, especially when the weather can turn bad in so many NFL cities. One more reason for the Chargers to be excited about the return of running back JK Dobbins, who missed four games with a knee sprain. He ran for 76 yards on 19 carries against the Patriots, with a two-yard touchdown.

JK Dobbins (27) of the Chargers ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against the Patriots in his return from a knee injury.

(Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press)

He was part of the Baltimore brigade that came west from the Ravens to the Chargers, coached by Harbaugh’s older brother John.

Unlike many of his teammates, Dobbins has playoff experience. He has attended postseason away games in Cincinnati, Tennessee and Buffalo. He understands the importance of a team shifting gears in December, as the Chargers appear to have done, and fueling the belief that they can compete at the highest level.

“We can beat you in a lot of ways, and in the playoffs that’s what you have to do,” Dobbins said. “In the playoffs they’re going to try to take away what you do best.”

He said Harbaugh “changed the culture” of a team that won five games last season.

“He produced guys who are winners,” he said. “That’s how you change the culture. They recruit guys to win (national championships) or win all throughout college. They bring in guys who have won all over the league. You start to see the benefits of it.”

Harbaugh gave him hugs on Saturday, but he hopes there are many more. A box checked. From his point of view, his team has only earned a place in the starting eleven.