Derwin James said exactly what Chargers fans wanted to hear after beating the Chiefs

After watching Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers' offense fight back from a 13-3 deficit to the rival Kansas City Chiefs, first tying the score at 13-13 on a 23-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker with just under nine minutes to play in the third quarter and then taking a 16-13 lead on a 49-yarder from Dicker roughly eight minutes later, the Bolts' defense knew its job was to keep the three-time defending AFC champs from putting points on the board in the final frame.

And Jesse Minter's unit did just that. After the Chiefs had gotten themselves into the red zone on the drive following Dicker's go-ahead kick, Los Angeles safety Daiyan Henley picked off Patrick Mahomes near the goal line on a jump ball thrown in the direction of Kareem Hunt.

After the Chargers' offense took more than seven minutes off the clock on the ensuing drive before punting the ball away, the defense prepped for prime Mahomes time, and the three-time Super Bowl champ got Kansas City off to a solid start, marching his team 35 yards in just four plays before Khalil Mack halted the momentum with a sack. Three plays later, of course, Mahomes was knocked out of the game with what turned out to be a torn ACL, thus bringing Gardner Minshew into the mix.

Minshew started strong, completing three quick passes for 22 yards to get the Chiefs in field goal range at the Chargers' 34-yard line. After tossing his first incompletion and then taking a delay of game penalty with just 20 ticks left on the clock, Minshew went looking for Travis Kelce on his fifth pass attempt, only to watch four-time Pro Bowl safety Derwin James Jr. read the route the entire way and notch his second interception of the season to secure the three-point victory.

With the win, the Chargers completed the season sweep of the Chiefs for the first time since 2013, improved to 5-0 within the division and 10-4 overall, thus keeping pace with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West and maintaining their position as the top wild-card team in the conference, while also officially eliminating Kansas City from playoff contention.

And while all of that is obviously great news for the Bolts, James isn't satisfied, as he explained to the media after breaking down his late-game heroics.

"I knew they didn't have many timeouts, good call by coach," James said. "Once I seen the 2-by-2 route, I knew what route it was and made a play on the ball.

"It puts us at 10-4, 5-0 in the division, but that don't mean nothing. We still gotta come out here and execute, get ready for the next game, and keep playing the games we want to play and go do the things we want to do as a team."

Derwin James says exactly what Chargers fans wanted to hear after beating the Chiefs

That's how leaders talk, folks. Again, sweeping the Chiefs, knocking them out of the playoffs, getting to 10 wins, and staying undefeated in the division are all wonderful things. But at the end of the day, none of it will matter if the Chargers can't take this momentum and do something with it when the postseason arrives.

Before that however, as James says, there's the matter of the Bolts prepping for their next game this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Los Angeles will then host the Houston Texans in Week 17 before heading to Colorado for a Week 18 showdown with the Broncos, which could end up deciding the division but only if Denver takes a loss or two over the next couple of weeks.

But you can bet James and everyone else in the Chargers' locker room will be ready for what lies ahead.