FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In Week 14 last season, the Los Angeles Chargers were surrounded by fans at their home stadium calling for the firing of their former head coach Brandon Staley amid a disappointing season.

A little over a year later, the Chargers saw what that felt like from the other side.

When Los Angeles defeated the New England Patriots 40-7 on Saturday to clinch a playoff spot, the small group of New England fans remaining in the stadium began chanting “Fire Mayo,” referring to it on Patriots coach Jerod Mayo. It was only the second time in the last century that New England lost by 30 or more points at home.

Saturday’s win was the Chargers’ best performance of the season and perhaps the best example of how much this team has changed in a year under coach Jim Harbaugh.

“It feels good to play meaningful football,” safety Derwin James said. “I remember sitting on my couch last year just wishing and asking myself, ‘Man, what do I have to do differently to make sure I don’t have the same feeling this year, man?’ And I’m just happy and proud of the guys who made the effort to help us get here.

James had one of his best games of the season on Sunday when he sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye twice, increasing his season sack total to a career-best 5.5. The defense stopped a New England offense that had scored 21 points last week against one of the NFL’s best teams, the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots’ only touchdown came in the second quarter when Maye hit receiver Demario Douglas for a 36-yard touchdown.

The Chargers’ defense pressured Maye all day, sacking him four times and pressuring him on 11 of his 31 dropbacks (36%).

“Our team played one of our best games defensively,” Harbaugh said.

The Chargers were nearly perfect on offense, hitting only twice and scoring a season-high in points. Justin Herbert finished the game 26-for-38 with 281 passing yards and three touchdowns before being dragged by all the starters early in the fourth quarter. Herbert also passed Peyton Manning for the most passing yards in a player’s first five seasons in the NFL.

Herbert’s favorite target on Sunday was rookie Ladd McConkey, who caught eight passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. McConkey’s big day helped him break the Chargers’ rookie receptions and yards receiving records set by former receiver Keenan Allen in a single season.

It was one of the best games of McConkey’s career as he faced the team the Chargers traded with to select him with the 34th pick in the draft. McConkey had more receiving yards on Saturday than the two receivers the Patriots selected with their picks in the draft day deal, Ja’Lynn Polk (87 yards) and Javon Baker (0).

“No extra motivation, nothing like that,” McConkey said. “When I got drafted, I was excited to get drafted. …I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. So it’s a cool moment.”

Last season, the Chargers didn’t look like a team that was a year away from the playoffs. They won only five games and lost many of their best players. However, the team expected a significant turnaround once the team hired Harbaugh, who was many players’ first choice for the job.

“The guys were praying and hoping that Jim would be our head coach,” linebacker Daiyan Henley said of the players’ mindset during the team’s coaching search.

He continued: “We saw Jim as a winner. Even though he was in college, he was a winner in college. We also knew his history with the 49ers. He’s a winner everywhere and we just wanted that mentality and here he is.” And he is exactly what we thought he would be.

Aside from a loud hug between Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz, the celebrations in the locker room were somewhat subdued. Multiple Chargers said they are looking forward to picking up the team’s 11th win next week and making a significant playoff push.

“I have to have a chance to win a Super Bowl, and we’re going to do that now,” running back JK Dobbins said.

“We don’t care what seed we are. We don’t care where we have to go,” James said. “We know we all want to finish our games. Eleven wins sounds better than ten wins. And it doesn’t matter where we are placed. We know we have to compete against everyone for our ultimate goal, so man, we’re ready.”

The Chargers play the Las Vegas Raiders next week to end their season. With a win over the Raiders and a loss against the Steelers, the Chargers can move up to No. 5.