ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Justin Herbert has managed well enough while playing with a broken non-throwing hand to help the Los Angeles Chargers win three consecutive games and close in on a second trip to the playoffs in two seasons under coach Jim Harbaugh.
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from the postseason race the night before kicking off their home finale Sunday.
The Chargers (10-4) beat the Las Vegas Raiders the day Herbert broke a bone in his left hand, then took care of both of last season's Super Bowl teams, defending champ Philadelphia and Kansas City, with the hand heavily protected.
Last week's 16-13 victory over the Chiefs eliminated Patrick Mahomes & Co., who had played in seven consecutive AFC championship games. The star quarterback tore two ligaments in his left knee late in the game.
The Chargers, who lost in the wild-card round last season, will be hoping Herbert has an even better handle on the hand injury if they move on to the playoffs. They figure to be a wild-card team again.
“Getting better,” said Herbert, who had surgery after the 31-14 win over the Raiders and played seven days later in the 22-19 overtime victory against the Eagles. “That's the most important part, just getting the swelling down and getting full range of motion and control with it, just to get a good grip on the ball.”
The Cowboys (6-7-1) did the same thing as the Chargers, beating the Eagles and Chiefs in consecutive games, but followed that with losses to Detroit and Minnesota. The Vikings won 34-26 after learning prior to kickoff they had been eliminated.
Now Dallas will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Philadelphia's victory over Washington on Saturday knocked out the Cowboys.
Still, first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer said Prescott, the NFL's leading passer, will be on the field against the Chargers.
“I want to win,” Schottenheimer said. “So the plan will be to play Dak.”
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has defended first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus most of the season despite the Cowboys having one of the NFL's worst defenses. His patience is running thin as the weeks add up with opposing quarterbacks playing considerably better than they have in most of their other games.
The latest was J.J. McCarthy in his eighth career start for the Vikings. The second-year QB didn't play as a rookie because of a knee injury.
“The result was that we let him make some pretty significant plays out there, plus, he played pretty well,” Jones said. “It seems like we're always saying that about these quarterbacks. Some of them hadn't played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that's telling, too.”
Jones rejected the notion that the players don't fit Eberflus' zone-heavy scheme. Dallas is last in the NFL in pass defense, second-to-last in scoring defense and 29th overall.
Eberflus, who was fired in the middle of his third season as Chicago's coach last year after previously serving as the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis, may be feeling the heat.
He said Thursday he would move to the coaching booth from the sideline against the Chargers, a first this season. Eberflus, who had a previous stint on the Dallas defensive staff, says he has sought that different perspective before.
“Candidly, just to be very up front about it,” Jones said, “I think if we could have gotten this defense in better shape earlier, that we could be sitting here and with the kind of wins that would have not had us in this tight spot.”
The Chargers clearly won with defense against the Eagles and Chiefs. Los Angeles had fewer than 300 yards total offense in both games, and Herbert was sacked 11 times total.
LA has been in the middle of the pack in the NFL on offense, but not really close to that since Herbert's injury. Herbert has thrown at least one interception in seven of the past eight games and has 12 for the season, three off his career high.
“You got to go out there and play every play like you need to win the game and to put your team in a position to win,” Herbert said. “You can't let a previous play or mistake affect the plays going forward.”
George Pickens' breakout year at receiver for the Cowboys hasn't been the same the past two weeks. There were questionable moments on the field during his three seasons in Pittsburgh, and those followed him to Dallas when he was traded in the offseason.
Retired cornerback Richard Sherman, a three-time All-Pro, questioned Pickens' commitment to running routes after he was held to five catches for 37 yards — a season-low 7.4 yards per catch — in a 44-30 loss to Detroit. Pickens responded in an Instagram post that was later deleted.
Pickens had just three catches for 33 yards against the Vikings, after CeeDee Lamb defended the other half of what has been a dynamic pairing. Lamb said critics were just waiting for a bad game from Pickens, who is still third in the NFL with 1,212 yards receiving.
“Some people’s job is to do that, tear down character, see how much clicks they can get,” Pickens said this week in his first comments since deleting the post about Sherman.
Asked if he was used to the scrutiny coming off a tumultuous time in Pittsburgh, Pickens said he was and added, “Starting to get kind of old, honestly.”
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