INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Los Angeles Chargers have long been synonymous with losing in the most heartbreaking way.

As Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase danced in the end zone on Sunday after helping Cincinnati rally from an 18-point first-half deficit, this game seemed like another chapter in a book of disappointment for the Chargers.

But Sunday night was different. The defense and quarterback Justin Herbert buoyed the Chargers as they avoided another late-game meltdown to beat the Bengals 34-27. The win was the most striking statement of how different these Chargers are under coach Jim Harbaugh.

“This team had more purpose,” linebacker Daiyan Henley said of what’s different about the Chargers with Harbaugh. “Maybe it wasn’t there last year for whatever reason, but right now we have a purpose, we have faith.”

Outside linebacker Joey Bosa is the longest-tenured Charger, drafted by the San Diego team in 2016.

During a meeting with the defense on Saturday, he told them about a cynical feeling that would come over Chargers teams in big games, which they would somehow always lose. But Bosa said he told the group differently this year and that he had a special feeling about this Chargers team, one he had never felt before in his career.

“Having coach Harbaugh and having the whole staff, I think, has changed the culture here,” Bosa said.

He continued: “I feel like we have a chance. … It just feels a little different right now. “I feel like if we continue to do what we need to do and prepare the way we do, don’t get comfortable and just continue to get better every week, I think we have a shot at something special.”

Entering Sunday’s game, the Chargers had the league’s best scoring defense, allowing (13.1) points per game. But according to ESPN analytics, they faced the league’s second-easiest schedule, raising questions about how good this defense really was.

Cincinnati, which ranked sixth in the league in points per game (26.1) on Sunday, would be the first test for this unit. Henley said Harbaugh spoke to the team on Friday about the defense’s many critics to motivate them for Sunday.

Ultimately, the Chargers’ defense fluctuated from solid to terrible. The 27 points allowed were a season-high, and their 21 points allowed in the second half were the most they had allowed since Week 15 of last season, when they gave up 21 to the Las Vegas Raiders. (Coach Brandon Staley and GM Tom Telesco were fired after that loss.)

But the defense got crucial stops late, including a hit on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow of Henley that forced an incomplete pass.

“The defense was at our best when our best was needed,” Harbaugh said.

Herbert took the field with 45 seconds left at the Chargers’ 16-yard line and quickly turned LA’s potential heartbreak into a storybook ending.

He connected with wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a 28-yard pass and then another 27-yard catch to put the Chargers in position for a field goal to end the game. However, on their next drive, he passed the ball to running back JK Dobbins, who broke free for a 29-yard touchdown to effectively end the game.

It was Herbert’s 15th game-winning drive since entering the league in 2020, the second most in the NFL during that span. He finished with 297 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and five carries for 65 rushing yards.

“Start the MVP conversations,” Dobbins said.