Something very strange happened in the Los Angeles Chargers’ season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders: the score was 22-10, and that mattered more than the final score.

Despite the game being played on the artificial turf field of SoFi Stadium, the most talk in the noisy Chargers locker room after the game was about a worm and how it has changed.

It’s an old sports saying that no matter how bleak things look, if you keep fighting, the worm will eventually turn. The key is not to wave a white flag until the roll is complete.

The Chargers won a game on Sunday that they could have easily lost in the past. A team known for finding creative ways to lose from a lead was nowhere to be found as new coach Jim Harbaugh showed why he gets paid $16 million a year.

“The culture is already there,” Harbaugh said. “Me and all the new guys just stepped in, we’re the lucky ones.”

Good luck getting that message across to those who know better.

The Chargers were looking for a mix of decency, accountability and the flair to win games the way their head coach prefers: by being physical, running the ball and playing good defense. And boy, did it work.

There running back JK Dobbins runs for 135 yards and a score.

Yes, that’s rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey making key catches, including a touchdown catch where he showed off his shuffling and shaking skills.

New right tackle Joe Alt asked to wrestle All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby? While his alma mater Notre Dame had a rough weekend, Alt shutout Crosby.

Things were going well for Khalil Mack. Khalil Mack and the way the Raiders cut him loose early in his career is still one of the most enigmatic subjects.

Coach?

Harbaugh’s desire to transform the organization was evident in every minute of this game on a scorching afternoon.

His expertise replaced the restlessness. His energy seeped into his players. His confidence that things were under control — even when they weren’t in the first half with a struggling attack — was impossible to ignore.

Just listing some highlights of the game and Justin Herbert is not mentioned. LA’s talented quarterback who has been asked to play hero ball during his career with the Chargers kept his right arm at the ready, but that was not necessary.

What was needed was a win. Harbaugh did it his way by showing toughness, which meant Herbert could save his winning cards for another hand.

“This is a great group of guys and the culture here is work,” said Harbaugh, who was presented with a game ball by team owner Dean Spanos. “The team is important.

“Justin Herbert pitched, he didn’t care. Derwin James just wants to win. Khalil Mack just wants to win. These guys are winners.”

All true, but that trio and others who carried bolts were trapped in an organization that didn’t know how to win. An organization that wasn’t shy about handing out money to players, was stingy about selecting coaches who had a lot of potential but little experience.

The list is as long as it is telling: Mike Riley, Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley.

That’s why Spanos was the real winner on Sunday, because he had the guts to pay Harbaugh $80 million over five years.

The first dividend came when the Raiders fans left early, as LA began to stall for time, and perhaps the story of “charging,” that made-up phrase that referred to the team’s slapstick ways in which they kept defeat from almost certain victory.

Herbert has had many ups and downs in his career, but that has nothing to do with his lift incident during pre-season training.

Harbaugh is pushing the buttons now and it shows.

“To have a guy like that in charge and a locker room that supports him and follows him – it’s a special day for him too to get his first win,” Herbert said.

The first of many is what Chargers fans are hoping for. And since Harbaugh is enthusiastic no matter where he hangs his coaching whistle, they’re probably right.

That’s not to say L.A. was perfect in kicking off its season — far from it. But there are few Picassos in the NFL, where the differences and margins for error are razor-thin.

Something always goes wrong, or things don’t go as you expected on the board.

But the black cloud that normally hangs over the Chargers was nowhere to be seen.

What was in that steamy locker room was a coach who knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it at a level few have seen before. Certainly not in a Chargers locker room, where coaching careers are usually doomed.

“It’s really tough to win a game in the NFL,” Harbaugh said, and he’s not lying. “I take my hat off to everybody in the organization, especially those who did the dirty work.”

Put your hands in the soil and good things will happen. Maybe a worm will change.