The Los Angeles Chargers are moving into the playoffs. It probably won’t be the last time for the Jim Harbaugh-Justin Herbert combination.

Harbaugh returned to the NFL after leading the University of Michigan to a national title and leading a historically underperforming Chargers franchise straight to the playoffs. And the Chargers looked like a playoff team on Saturday.

The Chargers defeated the New England Patriots 40-7 to secure a wild card spot. The Chargers improved to 10-6. They still have a chance at the No. 5 seed, which is valuable because this team will face the Houston Texans, who will be the AFC’s weakest division winner and are locked in at No. 4.

The Chargers did everything right on Saturday. After JK Dobbins returned from injury, they ran the ball effectively. Justin Herbert had perhaps his best game of the season with three touchdown passes and 281 yards. The defense was overwhelmed by the Patriots’ rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, and New England simply wasn’t able to move the ball. The Chargers pulled Herbert with just under 11 minutes left as the result was already decided.

Some teams get into the playoffs by getting help or getting a closer-than-expected win. The Chargers wanted to leave no doubt about their postseason abilities. Any AFC playoff team watching the Chargers knows that if they tie against the Chargers, they wouldn’t have an easy game.

The Chargers’ bankruptcy starts early

Previous versions of the Chargers would have been hard to trust with an early start Saturday on the East Coast. Usually, there was something that kept the Chargers from capitalizing on their talent level.

Whatever was missing, Harbaugh fixed it immediately.

The Chargers outscored the Patriots 249-91 in the first half, and the Patriots’ 36 yards rushing was their only high of the first half. The Chargers were offside, so Drake Maye took advantage of the open play and threw a long pass to Demario Douglas, who made a nice adjustment to catch the ball for the score. That pass came after Maye took a bad hit on New England’s first drive, went to the locker room to be checked for a concussion and returned to the game after being cleared.

That’s about the only positive for the Patriots. The Chargers owned the ball 23-20 in the first half, reflecting the New England defense’s inability to get off the field and also the offense’s inability to sustain attacks. The second half was even more dominant for the Chargers.

The Patriots are not a good team, as their 3-13 record clearly shows. But one of the signs of a good team is that they leave no room for doubt against bad teams, and that’s what the Chargers did.

Justin Herbert is having a field day

Herbert and Harbaugh are the type of pairing that might make life a little uncomfortable for the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West in the coming seasons.

Herbert had exciting highlights and strong stats before Harbaugh arrived, but he wasn’t particularly good late in games and the Chargers didn’t win much. Harbaugh didn’t give his quarterback more responsibility, which seemed counterintuitive, but he unlocked a much more efficient quarterback.

Herbert was fantastic against New England. He had his first three-touchdown game of the season. Two of the touchdown passes went to exciting rookie receiver Ladd McConkey. The Chargers offense played well and the defense gave the Patriots very little. It was a complete victory.

In many ways, the Chargers look like a well-coached team. They should be even better next season as the front office has more cap flexibility to add players that fit Harbaugh’s goals. This doesn’t feel like a fluke playoff appearance for the Chargers. They’re pretty good this season, and things could get a lot better as the Harbaugh era progresses.