With the game tied at 27 in the final minute against the Bengals, the Chargers handed the ball off to J.K. Dobbins, seemingly to gain a couple more yards for the eventual game-winning field goal.
The veteran running back took it up another level.
Dobbins worked his way up the middle and then broke loose, shrugging off Cincinnati defenders in the process, as he leapt into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
"When we lined up, I just had a feeling I was going to go score," Dobbins said after the game. "And that's what happened."
Week 11 was another chapter in the ongoing tale of redemption and perseverance for the 25-year-old running back.
"It's an incredible story," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said.
The journey for Dobbins to get back to this point has been well-documented by now: two season-ending injuries to his knee and Achillies in recent years, both detrimental to any player, let alone a player at his position.
Which is why his season is so unique — and one of the best success stories in the NFL in 2024.
A motivated Dobbins took the podium back in late April after being signed by the Bolts, expressing confidence of what he would be able to produce in his return from injury.
Fast forward to present day and Dobbins' internal belief has manifested itself onto the field on a weekly basis.
"I'm just proving myself right," Dobbins told Chargers.com. "I know I'm one of the best whenever I'm healthy. That's why I'm just proving myself right.
"The injuries have slowed me down, but those are the things I couldn't control," Dobbins added. "They weren't nagging injuries, I couldn't play. It was freak accidents. Now I'm back and hopefully stay healthy so I can show people, show myself that I am one of those guys."
His season has been one of the many highlights of what's been a Chargers season full of them.
Dobbins has been the lead back in what's been a Chargers rushing attack that has been, at times, a driving force of the offense.
He ranks 10th in the league with 726 rushing yards. He's also 12th in yards per carry among qualified running backs with 4.8 yards an attempt, good for third in the AFC.
And the running back has had a knack for the end zone as well, as evident by his pair of scores in primetime this past week. He has totaled eight rushing touchdowns, which is tied for sixth-most in the NFL.
He's also been able to show some of his explosiveness and physical nature with 22 rushes of 10 or more yards and 505 rushing yards after contact, according to Next Gen Stats.
Many would consider these numbers impressive coming off major injuries. Dobbins isn't one of them.
"I'm actually kind of upset at this point because my goal was to be number one and I'm not," Dobbins said with a smile. "I'm not even close to it so I'm going to keep striving for that."
He later added: "I ain't there yet. I'm going to get better."
After an offseason of working his way back, there was intrigue of finally seeing what Dobbins would look like once he got back on the field. After all, the running back did not play in any of the Bolts preseason games but was featured a good amount during training camp.
Dobbins didn't take long to show the NFL what he was still capable of.
The 25-year-old introduced himself in the powder blue by rushing for 135 yards on 10 carries for a whopping 13.5 yards per carry and a touchdown, including rushes of 46 and 61 yards in Week 1.
It was exactly what the veteran was hoping to prove to himself, and he got it right from the jump.
"It definitely gave me confidence. It showed me that I am back," Dobbins said. "That was something to build on."
He carried that confidence to Week 2, where he had another massive game of 17 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown — and made some history in the process.
Dobbins became just the sixth player in the last 75 years and first since 1998 to record back-to-back games with 130 yards on the ground and a rushing score in his team's first two games of a season.
He also set some franchise history as well, becoming the only player to ever run for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games to start the season.
"What a testament to his will," Harbaugh said about Dobbins following his Week 2 performance. "Then to have this kind of success… it's just incredible."
For as much as his teammates and coaches rave about what he's been able to do up to this point of the year on the field, they speak just as highly on him for what he's been able to do for the team off the field.
And it's easy to see why for anyone who's ever interacted with him.
"J.K., he brings a ton of positive energy," said Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, who was with Dobbins for multiple seasons in Baltimore. "He's ready to roll. Really is an energy giver to everybody around him and we appreciate that."
"He comes in every day, great attitude, working hard, trying to get better," Roman later added. "What else can you ask for?"
The word "energy" is often used to describe Dobbins, as his upbeat personality has been well-evident in just one season with the Bolts.
It's why in just a short time, Dobbins has become one of the veteran voices in the locker room and someone the team has gravitated to.
That's another reason why his on-field success after everything he's gone is that much more special for even his teammates to enjoy.
"Special player. Special person," left tackle Rashawn Slater said. "You look at the field and see the results. But he's also just a joyous guy. His presence in the locker room, to have him really helps us out."
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston added: "He's an all-around … great guy to be around. He brings positive energy day-in and day-out, each and every day which I feel like we need as a team. I feel like everyone around feeds off of that, coaches included."
It's also why he was voted as one of the team's alternate offensive captains before the year, despite being in Southern California for just over four months up to that point.
From the moment he arrived with the team, Dobbins turned into one of the leaders in the room.
"He's awesome. He's a great teammate, great leader," quarterback Justin Herbert said about Dobbins. "He's a guy that speaks in the locker room. Everyone respects him. He works hard.
"He does everything the right way on and off the field, and we're not surprised by his success," Herbert added. "We knew how special he was."
Not only has his season been an eye-popping one, it's on the cusp of becoming the best of his career.
Dobbins enters Week 12 needing 50 rushing yards and 85 yards from scrimmage to set new single-season career-highs. He's also two rushing touchdowns to reach 10 on the year and set a new mark in that category as well.
His season has been nothing short of remarkable success story for those around the Bolts, and Harbaugh has made it clear in recent weeks — he believes Dobbins should be the frontrunner for the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.
"If he keeps going the way he's going, if he hasn't already been nominated for Comeback Player of the Year, if he has, then I'll add to it and be singing with the choir," Harbaugh said after Week 8. "But if I am the first to nominate him then so be it.
"I'll nominate him for Comeback Player of the Year," Harbaugh added.
The Bolts Head Coach continued to rave about Dobbins this week.
"The injuries he's come back [from], you talk about Achillies, you talk about a knee, multiple surgeries," Harbaugh said. "That's difficult for any position, let alone running back.
"To our eye it's even better, faster, quicker, stronger than before he had those injuries," he added. "Then you think about the grueling rehab that went into that … a lesser man could not have done it."
Dobbins smiled when the topic of his Head Coach endorsing him for the award came up and admitted he has heard about it.
"It's mentioned and stuff. I think about it, that would be a blessing to get that award," Dobbins said. "Out of all the people running against me I feel like I would deserve it the most because I'm a running back and I just had an Achillies injury last year then a knee in a two-year span.
"I do think that would be pretty cool," Dobbins added. "I love that he is advocating for that. Hopefully I can bring it home."
But for as much as the award would mean a lot given everything he's gone through and the recovery it took to get back to this point, he did acknowledge that it's not something he actively thinks about.
He's focused on the now, which is in the midst of a special Chargers season in Year 1 with the Bolts.
"It definitely does [make it worth it]," Dobbins said. "I really don't think about it though. I just play because I don't want to think about the future and stuff like that… I don't like to look ahead. I like to stay in the moment, in the present."
He later added: "Just to be a part of building this thing to a winning organization and winning team has been really special and that's what I came here to do. It's good to see it happening."
It's been a long road to get back to this point for Dobbins.
And after working his way back from everything he has, he's enjoyed being able to see all his hard work pay off on the field in 2024.
"It just shows the work I've been putting in the dark when no one's watching, when things are hard," Dobbins said. "When most people would fold, I prayed and worked hard.
He added: "Now, it's manifesting."
