The Chargers are now 8-4 after a thrilling 17-13 win in Atlanta.

Here are five takeaways from Week 13.

1. James, Chargers clutch on final drive

With the game on the line, Derwin James, Jr. wanted to be on the field.

Turns out he was in the perfect spot, too.

With the Chargers holding a slim lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter, James capped off a statement game by the Bolts defense with a game-sealing interception off Kirk Cousins.

Ballgame. And a 17-13 Chargers win in Week 13.

"You always want the challenge," James said. "As a defense, any great defense wants to be on the field.

"I feel like we had that challenge today and we finished how we wanted to finish as a defense," James added.

James' interception was the fourth of the day against Cousins, tying a career high for the veteran quarterback.

Tarheeb Still had two of them, including a game-changing pick-6 you can read about here. James and Marcus Maye had the other two.

"Made a lot of plays," James said. "The last two weeks, we haven't had any turnovers. Finally got some today and they were just coming in bunches."

The box score is going to show the Chargers gave up 350 yards on Sunday.

But the unit also held Atlanta to three third-down conversions on 14 tries and gave up just one touchdown on four trips inside the red zone.

"To have a defense that's playing like that, it's great for a team. We won because of the defense today," Justin Herbert said.

Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh added: "The defense played incredible."

Now, a gritty victory — Harbaugh called it a "tough ass win" — has the Bolts sitting at 8-4 with five games to go.

The Chargers still sit in a playoff spot and took another big step toward securing a postseason berth with Sunday's win.

"What a beautiful thing we are all witnessing," Harbaugh said. "It's players, coaches, personnel department, ownership. It's an entire organization coming together playing complementary winning football."

The Chargers are on Sunday Night Football in Week 14 against the Chiefs in Kansas City.

"You win in December, November, you get remembered," James said. "These games count as plus two, especially in the situation we're in, being 8-4 and everybody chasing us.

"Just to get another game ahead of them, it's only going to help us to get to where we want to be," James added.

Tony Jefferson said: "A lot of the games this time of year are going to pretty much be like that. The fact that we were able to win, I think it's good for us."

2. Maye saves the day after fake punt

Leading 17-13 early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers faced fourth-and-4 at their own 36-yard line.

The Bolts tried a fake punt as punter JK Scott received the snap but threw a pass to tight end Stone Smartt.

Scott's pass was completed but Smartt was only able to gain three yards for a turnover on downs.

"I thought it was a good time to catch them by surprise but they did a good job defending it," Harbaugh said. "We had practiced it and just came up short. That's on me."

A few plays later, it was Maye to the rescue.

Wait, Marcus Maye?

You know, the guy the Chargers claimed off waivers on Wednesday.

On third-and-goal from the Falcons 13, Cousins floated a pass that Maye picked off in the back of the end zone.

"We were in coverage, did a great job of covering, making the quarterback hold onto the ball," Maye said. "The D-line did a good job containing him, causing pressure. He tried to scramble, lob it over to the guy in the end zone. He overthrew it, and I had to go make the play."

Maye, an eight-year vet, signed as a free agent with the Dolphins during the offseason and played in 11 games (three starts) for them in 2024.

He had a crash course in the defense later in the week and came up big in one of the most clutch situations in Week 13.

"I had long nights, long flights of studying, early mornings of studying, watching film," Maye said. "I had one walkthrough, a semi-speed practice and get ready to play.

"Had to miss Thanksgiving with the family and everything like that," Maye added. "Just to finally be here, play ball, get a win with this new team, definitely thankful."

Harbaugh quipped after the game that Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter predicted an interception from Maye earlier in the week.

3. McConkey shines in home state

It was the Ladd McConkey Show on Sunday in Georgia.

Not that the locals hadn't seen that before.

McConkey, a Georgia native who later starred at the University of Georgia, finished with nine catches for 117 yards in Sunday's win.

McConkey joked he "didn't count" how many supporters he had in attendance in Atlanta.

All that mattered to him was getting to 8-4.

"It was good, but it felt better to get the win," McConkey said. "Didn't matter how many catches or whatever, if we didn't get the win it would still be a long flight back home. That was the biggest thing."

"I just want to go out there and produce for my team. Throw the ball my way, I want to catch it and make a play," McConkey later added. "That's kind of how I approach it. I don't go in and be like, 'Oh, I need 100.' When it comes to me, make a play."

McConkey's performance that included 100-plus yards in the first half alone.

His 105 first half receiving yards set a Chargers rookie record in the opening half of a game as he's now only one of two rookies to accomplish that feat.

"Another player that is always so locked in … he makes a mistake and that's the last time you see him make that particular mistake," Harbaugh said. "Ladd is not an error repeater."

4. Offense a work in progress

The Bolts offense tallied just 187 yards Sunday, with McConkey accounting for more than 60 percent of the offense.

The Chargers were just 3-of-11 on third downs and rushed for only 56 total yards as a team.

But Harbaugh was quick to point out a successful 2-point play that was a massive difference on the scoreboard.

Down 10-9, Still's 61-yard pick 6 gave the Bolts a 15-10 lead late in the third quarter.

With the score now 15-10, the Chargers hit a successful 2-point play to make it 17-10.

"There were times that we weren't at our best offensively, but that 2-point conversion was as big as a 2-point conversion you can have in a game," Harbaugh said. "It made all the difference in the end."

Look at it this way.

The Bolts later allowed a field goal to cut their lead to 17-13. With the Falcons in field goal range on their final drive, the made 2-point play forced Atlanta to play for a touchdown rather that kick a potential game-winning field goal.

Either way, Herbert said, he wants a better performance from his unit going forward.

"Not much more can be said about the defense. They've done such a great job this year," Herbert said. "The way they've fought, they've stayed out there. I think we lost the time of possession battle. We've got to do a better job of getting first downs and keeping those guys off the field.

"They fought, they've done such a great job this year," Herbert added. "That's on us as an offense to get better. To have them show up like that and really hold a good opponent like that, it allows you to win games."

5. Jefferson steps up in secondary

The Bolts were thin on paper at safety entering Week 13.

Tony Jefferson stepped up when his name was called as the Chargers third safety. His presence allowed James to play in his usual nickel role while Jefferson and Elijah Molden roamed deep.

Jefferson was everywhere early on and finished with eight total tackles, the third-most on the team.

"Energy, swag, confidence," James said of Jefferson. "Reminding us that he belongs here, he's a veteran guy, he's talking out there, making plays early in the game. It's exciting."

Harbaugh added: "Tony has been great for us. Happy to get Tony out there. Been chomping at the bit to get Tony out there and playing. What he did in the preseason, he shows that every day in practice on the look team. He frustrates the offense."

Jefferson, who was out of football last year when he worked as a scouting assistant in Baltimore, deflected away his own performance and talked more about the stellar day from the Bolts defense.

"I think we're happy we won, but I know we're so ready to go back into the defensive room so we can fix what we have to fix," Jefferson said. "I think we used that bend, but don't break mentality throughout the game.

"Obviously, they had some explosive plays that we wish we had back, but when it counted we were there to make the play," Jefferson added. "Jesse [Minter] harps on that all the time, just be at your best when your best is needed. That's what we were doing today."