The Chargers are 11-4 after Sunday's 34-17 road win over the Cowboys.

Here are five takeaways from Week 16.

1. Chargers look playoff ready

The Bolts didn't clinch a playoff spot Sunday despite a resounding double-digit road win over the Cowboys.

But the words Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh uttered postgame should have the rest of the AFC on notice.

"We played close to our best game of the season in all three phases," Harbaugh said.

Yes, with the calendar about to stretch into late December and then January, the Chargers are playing their best ball of the season.

"Our team is played-led, player-driven. This was a player-led win," Harbaugh said. "Coaching is good, coaching matters. But the players who are the ones leading this team."

He later added: "Our best playmakers and are our leaders are also the guys who work the hardest, care the most about the team. It's unselfish."

Sunday's win pushed the Chargers to 11 wins, which matches their total from a season ago. Not that they are satisfied.

"We're trying to shatter that. We can do better," Derwin James, Jr. said. "If we won 11 last year, we're trying to get 12 or 13 this year."

Remember, this is a team that only a handful of outside pundits picked to make the playoffs. And most of them probably jumped off the bandwagon after season-ending injuries to All-Pro caliber tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, two of the Chargers best offensive players.

The Chargers offense put up a season-high 452 yards of offense on the road Sunday. And they used essentially their fifth and sixth-string tackles while doing so.

The Chargers defense? Many experts thought they'd take a step back after leading the NFL in points allowed last year.

And while the group might not win that accolade this year, Jesse Minter's group is undoubtedly playing their best ball of the season. The Week 16 win marked the fourth game in a row the Bolts have allowed fewer than 20 points, and Sunday's effort came against the NFL's most explosive offense.

"I think the really cool thing about this team is that we've really taken it week by week. We're never looking too far ahead or looking too far back," Justin Herbert said. "We're able to pick each other up, the past couple weeks the defense has really been able to help us out and today we were able to kind of help [them] out a little bit.

"When all three phases are playing complementary for each other, that's when we're at our best," Herbert added.

With two games left, the Chargers find themselves squarely in the AFC playoff picture as a Wild Card team.

But the AFC West is still in play depending on what happens around the conference. So, too, is the possible No. 1 seed.

This is prove-it time around the NFL, when teams starting separating and showing who is ready to make a potentially deep playoff run.

The Chargers have won four in a row and seven of eight overall. They have a bonafide head coach in Harbaugh and a franchise quarterback in Herbert, plus veteran leaders and young players alike who routinely rise to the challenge.

The holidays are here and New Year's is peeking around the corner.

So, too, are the Chargers ... just in time for the postseason.

"Coach Harbaugh said that 'We're in a position to be in a position,'" Herbert said. "That's all you can ask for, where we're playing meaningful football in December and a lot of teams aren't."

Harbaugh added: "We're highly motivated."

2. Herbert leads explosive offense

So much for the talk of that lethargic Chargers offense.

Herbert led a high-octane unit Sunday as the group put up the aforementioned season-high in yardage to go along with 24 first downs, the Bolts third-highest mark of the year.

But it's tough to get a new mark in first downs when you chew up so much of the field with big plays.

The Bolts tallied nine plays of at least 14 yards Sunday, with seven of them coming through the air. It was a vintage Herbert game as he completed 23 of 29 passes 79.3 percent) for 300 yards and a pair of scores while posting a passer rating of 132.8.

"Fantastic quarterback play, definitely MVP caliber," Harbaugh said postgame. "He's doing things game after game that are reserved for only the best that are in the game or that have ever played the game."

The Chargers head leaned into the ground game after the bye by running the ball on 55 percent of their plays since Week 12. Sunday saw a shift there as Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman rely more on Herbert's arm through the air.

The Chargers ran 62 offensive plays Sunday, 33 of which were runs. But 14 of those came in the fourth quarter when the Bolts mostly had the game under wraps.

That meant more pass plays than run plays through the first three quarters in Dallas.

"Coach Roman did a great job of calling the game the way we needed to win the game," Herbert said. "In weeks' past we definitely had a big emphasis on the run and felt like we were going to be able to run the ball really well and we did.

"Today, we were going to throw it a little and run it well, too. Having both of those phases of our offense helped us overall," Herbert added.

Harbaugh said: "It was good to see both the run game and the pass game thriving. Justin had time to throw and he was on fire, even pregame. Everything was dialed in. The entire first half and the second half, he never really missed."

Herbert won on the money early on, hitting Quentin Johnston for a one-handed score on the opening drive. He found a wide-open Ladd McConkey for a 25-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive before the quarterback scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.

Herbert posted his 31st career 300-yard passing game Sunday, tying him with Josh Allen for the second-most in the NFL since Herbert entered the league 2020.

"You already have to run your route because he can get you the ball. As a receiver, that's a dream. You run it to your best ability because of him," Tre' Harris said. "To see him go out there and play with his injury [a broken left hand], that just inspires, not just me, but all of us."

Johnston led the way with a season-high 104 receiving yards while Harris added a career-best 54 yards. Keenan Allen (five catches for 44 yards) and McConkey (four catches for 43 yards) also chipped in, especially on third downs.

"We came out and challenged them. We've got a receiver room where anybody can get it and I believe in each and every one of these guys to have that type of success," Harris said.

"It feels really good, the whole group was eating. Everybody out there was doing their thing. Everybody was having fun, playing free and fast," Harris added.

3. Defense shines in 2nd half

There was no fiery halftime speech or magical orange slices for the Chargers defense on Sunday.

Just a realization they needed to play better in the second half.

"We just needed to wake up," Cam Hart said.

The Chargers allowed 211 total yards, including 61 on the ground, and 12 first down to the Cowboys in the first half in Week 16.

The final two quarters? Only 129 yards, 30 of which were rushing, and just seven first downs

"Just locking in on our keys. I feel like the first 15 plays, they had a good game plan," James said. "Shoutout to them, they had some good plays. But we cleaned up our eyes."

Khali Mack said the difference was stopping the run, which Dallas had been using to set up downfield shots.

"We knew we had to buckle down in the run game … they were running play-action off of it [in the first half]," Mack said. "Just playing disciplined and run defense first."

Harbaugh credited Teair Tart for setting the tone early in the second half as the defensive lineman tallied a tackle for loss on Dallas' opening play of the second half.

"We played the run better and put more of a roof on it with the safety coverage. Took away the big plays," Harbaugh said.

Dallas entered the game ranked first in yards per game (369.9) and passing yards per game (276.1) and are fourth in points per game (29.1).

The Chargers didn't allow the Cowboys to reach any of those marks, and also held Dallas to just 17 points, which was tied for the second-fewest by the unit all season.

"Ultimately, we're only focused on the group of guys in the locker room and not focused on the outside noise," Mack said. "Just trying to stack wins."

4. Key 4th-down stop

A key reason for the Chargers second-half dominance?

The Bolts came up with a "game-changing play" late in the third quarter.

The contest had been a shootout so far but the Chargers led by just seven as the Cowboys were in the red zone.

But instead of tying the game or cutting into the Bolts lead, Dallas came away empty-handed thanks to a fourth-and-1 run stuff at the Chargers 16-yard line.

"I don't know who all was providing the knockback but it was three or four guys," Harbaugh said. "Filled those gaps and knocked them back. It was one of the plays of the game."

Jamaree Caldwell and Da'Shawn Hand were credited with tackling Hunter Luepke on the play.

"We wanted them to go for it. That's where we can make our impact on the game," Mack said before comparing the play to a dice game.

"Everybody put their money in the pot and we're looking for those opportunities to hit," Mack added.

The Chargers took advantage of the turnover on downs and got a field goal, stretch their lead to double digits for the first time all game.

Dallas wouldn't reach the red zone again.

"To be able get a stop right there, then we go up 10. That was the difference in the game," James said.

5. Depth on full display

Harbaugh often says it takes an entire roster to win games and have a successful season.

That was certainly the case Sunday.

Left tackle Jamaree Salyer left after the fifth offensive snap with a hamstring injury, which meant Austin Deculus played almost the entirety of the win.

The result? The Chargers offensive line didn't allow a sack for the first time all season.

"Shoutout to the front five for communicating and blocking as well as well as they did in giving me time to get the ball off," Herbert said.

Harbaugh added: "Great to see Austin Deculus step in and have a great game."

Running back Kimani Vidal left early in the fourth quarter with a neck injury.

Defensively, the Bolts cornerback depth was tested as Donte Jackson left in the second half with a groin injury.

Jackson's replacement, Benjamin St-Juste, then sustained a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.

"I'm not sure who all went down today," Mack said. "But guys were able to step in and play discipline football whenever we needed."

With the playoffs looming, the Bolts showed Sunday that have the ability to keep the train moving even when players go down.

"That's a tribute to all the people we've got in the locker room, not just the starters but backups and even their backups," Johnston said. "We all try to have a next-man-up attitude. If we lose a starter … especially at this point of the season, we don't have time to look at it like that.

"It's next man up and a lot of people have took that to heart and are coming out here and executing," Johnston added.