Los Angeles came up short in its Week 17 game against Houston, slipping to 11–5 and officially handing the AFC West to Denver. The Chargers are still in the playoffs, but as a wild card, not a division winner. And with the standings settled, there’s already a question hovering over the finale: whether Harbaugh even wants his starters on the field.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said he hasn’t given much thought yet to how he’ll handle Week 18, even with the Broncos having clinched the AFC West. Any decision, of course, starts with Justin Herbert. Whether the quarterback, and the rest of the regulars suit up at all next week remains very much undecided.

The Chargers entered Saturday in full control of their path to the AFC West and still alive for the No. 1 seed. Beat Houston, and Week 18 against the Broncos turns into a winner-take-all match-up. Lose, and suddenly it’s another wild-card route. That’s where Harbaugh’s team now finds itself, for the second straight season.

Yes, the Chargers have been banged up all year, especially along the offensive line and across other spots. But given how this season started, you can’t help but feel like more was there.

And once again, the familiar issues showed up on defense and special teams. The defense busted coverage twice early. One breakdown turned into a 75-yard touchdown from C.J. Stroud to Nico Collins on the opening drive. Another led to a 43-yard score to Tank Dell. They settled in after that, but in a game that was always going to be tight, nothing seemed enough.

Special teams didn’t help. Cameron Dicker missed a 32-yard field goal just before halftime and pushed a PAT wide in the fourth quarter. Punter J.K. Scott had a pair of shaky kicks in the second half. Miscues all over.

Still, the bottom line is this: the Chargers will be playing in January. They won’t be sitting at home. And a big reason for that remains Justin Herbert. And the head coach had something big to say about his quarterback.

Jim Harbaugh’s bold claim about Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert did just about everything he could to drag the Chargers across the finish line, and it still wasn’t enough. But it was enough for Jim Harbaugh to go all the way with his praise afterward.

“I think he’s the best there ever was,” Harbaugh said in the postgame presser.

And even in a loss, it didn’t sound outrageous in the moment. Herbert kept the Chargers alive with two touchdown drives in the second half, putting the offense on his back when it mattered most. The first drive had two plays that summed up tonight’s carry job.

On third-and-14 from the 44, Herbert tucked it and ran for 28 yards, breaking a tackle to move the chains. A few snaps later, on third-and-6 from the 12, he stayed on his feet through contact long enough to find Quentin Johnston for another first down. Well, even that wasn’t enough.

All that while playing through a hand injury and behind a patchwork offensive line. He finished 21-of-32 for 236 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also led the team in rushing with 37 yards. He earned his way into January. Even on a night that didn’t end the way he wanted, it was clear why the Chargers are still standing because of him.