The LA Chargers appeared to be well on their way to another heartbreaking loss on Sunday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals. Then the Chargers remembered Jim Harbaugh is the head coach and rewrote the narrative with a nail-biting 34-27 win.
Harbaugh has completely changed the culture of the entire organization less than one full year after he was hired by the Bolts. It was evident before the Chargers played a single game under Harbaugh that things were different and fans were reminded of this reality on Sunday night.
Granted, the Chargers were on the receiving end of some bad kicking for once as Evan McPherson missed two consequential field goals late in the fourth quarter. While that undoubtedly played a role, the fact of the matter is that the Chargers were able to weather the storm because of their head coach.
Don't believe us? Just listen to one of the team's most prominent superstars, Joey Bosa. Bosa admitted after Sunday's win that in the past there would be a sense of doubt when the bottom started to give out. Under Harbaugh, that sense of doubt has seemingly gone away.
Joey Bosa: “It’s been a lot of games through the years where we’ve been put in that position and came up short. So I’m just proud of everybody.”
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) November 18, 2024
He said there was a lack of belief among the team in the past in close game situations that they would mess it up.
Joey Bosa confirms the Chargers are different under Jim Harbaugh
Harbaugh creates a winning culture everywhere he coaches. While culture alone does not win football games, it does allow a team to pull out wins in losable games like the Chargers did against the Bengals.
Bosa is not the only Chargers player who acknowledged this reality, either. Sophomore linebacker Daiyan Henley told reporters that this year's Chargers team is different from years past.
"This is a different team. This is not what the Chargers have been, this is not what the fans are used to."Daiyan Henley
Henley only spent one year on the Chargers without Harbaugh and that was enough for him to know how things used to be. In fact, this is not the first time Henley has spoken out about the differences in this Chargers team as the sophomore previously took subtle shots at Brandon Staley's defense.
Whether it was Staley or the mediocre head coaches before him, the Chargers built up a reputation for finding new ways to lose games. And while every game is different, that reputation starts to take a toll on the players.
Instead of having the confidence of a winning organization like the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs, this reputation causes self-doubt. And in key moments, this results in the Chargers trying desperately not to lose games instead of the team actually trying to win them.
This doesn't mean the Chargers are going to win every toss-up from here on out. The Chargers will lose a game they should win and there will be heartbreaking losses with Harbaugh as the head coach.
However, as Bosa alluded to, there won't be a lack of confidence from those in the locker room because they know firsthand that Harbaugh has rewritten the culture. That confidence will show up on the field, and will hopefully lead to the Chargers finally achieving the ultimate goal.