LAS VEGAS — Alohi Gilman stuffed a pair of cleats into his travel bag and took a seat in a chair facing his locker. The location was familiar. The feeling was not.
Last December, Gilman was seated in front of the exact same locker, shell-shocked by what had just transpired on the field. The room was dead silent that night as the Los Angeles Chargers showered and packed their things and stared down an uncertain future.
What a difference a year makes.
Because on this evening in the visiting locker room at Allegiant Stadium, the Chargers were jovial. Laughter and smiles replaced the piercing silence. Gilman was reminded that he was sitting at that exact same locker. He chuckled. “Good times,” he said.
The Chargers got their revenge. They beat the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-20, on Sunday to finish coach Jim Harbaugh’s first regular season at 11-6. They clinched the fifth seed and will play at the Houston Texans on Saturday in the wild-card round.
GO DEEPER
Chargers lock up AFC’s fifth seed with win vs. Raiders: Key takeaways
All noteworthy accomplishments and evidence of a redirected organization.
But was it sweeter to do it here, in this building, on this field, against this opponent?
To relinquish the demons of 63-21?
“Hellllllllllllllllll yeah,” Gilman exclaimed. “I wanted to score 50 on them.”
After a sluggish start, the Chargers pulled away in the second half. They led by three scores with 3:38 remaining in the game and subbed out some of their defensive starters, including Gilman, safety Derwin James Jr. and linebacker Daiyan Henley, all three of whom were on the team last season.
“They’re lucky they took us out,” Gilman said. “For those who were there, they remember what that felt like. I did. That never left my stomach until now.”
This was the final weight that needed to be lifted.
The last brush stroke in an inspiring painting.
The finishing scene of a rags-to-riches script.
The loss in Las Vegas last season set in motion a transformation.
It is just so fitting that this regular season ends in the same place with an opposite result.
“As crazy as it sounds,” offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III said, “it was meant to be like that.”
Even with that 2023 game so far out of reach, Henley did not touch the field on defense until less than three minutes remained in regulation.
Henley is now one of the Chargers’ most integral defensive pieces.
Late in the first half Sunday, he snagged his first career interception. The turnover changed the game.
The Chargers trailed 10-9 with a little more than a minute remaining before halftime. The Raiders faced a second-and-5. Henley knew, given the amount of time on the clock, that Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell would be looking to attack deep down the seam. And if that route was not open, he would check the ball down underneath.
O’Connell took the snap. Tight end Michael Mayer ran down the seam. He was covered. O’Connell came off that read and looked to running back Alexander Mattison, who had turned around five yards past the line of scrimmage as the check-down option. Edge rusher Joey Bosa collapsed the pocket off the right side. The Chargers’ rush, led by Bosa and Khalil Mack, was stout all game.
O’Connell threw off an awkward platform. Henley, with the words of linebackers coach NaVorro Bowman and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter ringing in his head, drove on Mattison. And he picked the throw off.
“Being in this league and they call you a coverage linebacker,” Henley said, “you can’t leave without an interception at some point.”
the ranger on duty 🫡
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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 5, 2025
The Chargers scored a go-ahead touchdown four plays later and never trailed again.
“It’s layers to this locker room for me,” Henley said after the game. “Not only did we have a terrible showing that game, I wasn’t even a part of it. … All that always stuck with me. I wasn’t even trusted to be on that field, and now I get to be on that field. … There’s a whole ‘nother light to it right now.”
Justin Herbert played a third straight sensational game. He is playing some of the best football of his career. After Henley’s interception, Herbert connected with receiver DJ Chark for the score. That was Chark’s first Chargers touchdown. The Chargers went for the two-point conversion. Pressure came. Herbert escaped to his right. He bought time. He bought some more time. Cornerback Jack Jones — who had a highlight-reel pick-six in last season’s blowout — was closing in. Herbert floated a pass to the back of the end zone through contact. Ladd McConkey, who caught five passes for 95 yards in the game, came down with it.
TWO-POINT CONVERSION IS GOOD
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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 5, 2025
Herbert finished 28-of-36 passing for 346 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m not going to say unbelievable, because I believe it,” Harbaugh said of Herbert’s performance. “I see it every day.”
Herbert’s favorite target was receiver Quentin Johnston, who played 60 snaps in last season’s loss at the Raiders. Johnston had two catches in that game. On Sunday, Johnston caught 13 passes for 186 yards, both career highs. It was easily the best game of his career. He was a complete receiver, torching the Raiders secondary on every level of the field — screens, slants, digs, gos. He made contested catches. He made fingertip catches.
Herbert kept firing his way.
“You got to feed the hot hand,” Herbert said.
It felt like the culmination of a season of development for Johnston, a first-round pick in 2023.
“If you’re a player that just gets it,” Johnston said, snapping his fingers, “week in, week out, week in and out, it’s easy. But a player like me, a lot of ups and downs and stuff like that, trying my best each and every week to stay consistent, to be that player for my team … it’s honestly been a mental battle all year for me. Even though I’m doing better than I did last year, I still got a long way to go, so I feel like this is just another stepping stone, proving to myself that I can do it.”
Johnston, like Gilman, could only smile when the vibe of the visiting locker room after last season’s loss was brought up. Johnston remembered it being “dead silent in here.”
It was a culmination for Johnston personally. It was a culmination for all the returning players. For the team.
“Even though we already had a playoff spot locked in,” Johnston said. “We still had something to prove to our self, just in this building, against this team and in this atmosphere.”
On to Houston, with cleansed souls.
“Now the real football begins,” Mack said.
(Photo of Daiyan Henley and Derwin James: Candice Ward / Getty Images)
