The Chargers are now 8-5 after a close 19-17 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Here are five takeaways from Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh's Monday press conference.

1. Harbaugh's outlook for final month

Jim Harbaugh is a football lifer, as he is now in his fifth different decade in the sport.

He was a player in the late 1980s and 1990s and has since been a coach for the past two-plus decades.

In other words, Harbaugh knows a successful team when he sees one. And he does when he looks at the 2024 Chargers.

"I haven't been around a team with this much fortitude to them, stalwart football players," Harbaugh said Monday. "Five decades, I see that with this team, I feel that with this team."

He later added: "Whether it was offensively, defensively, special teams, the fight that they had, the gravel in the gut. I'm just really impressed by it. It's a constant, down-to-down, play-to-play [mentality]."

Harbaugh later noted that everyone from big-name superstars to those on the practice squad, which Harbaugh calls the "opportunity squad," brings the same mindset each and every day.

"That's from the superstars to all of our roster, opportunity squad. They continue to do that very same thing, continue to give it their best, improve, constant improvement," Harbaugh said.

He later added: "Great to see so many guys contributing. Just giving it their best, that's all a coach can ask for. I call it the will to win, the determination, just being a stalwart. I've never been on a team that has so many guys, that has it at this level. That's five decades of being on teams. That bodes really well for us. We're just going to keep chipping away at it, keep grinding."

Harbaugh's Chargers are 8-5 and currently occupy the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

And while there are still four games left in the regular season, Harbaugh on Monday sounded like a coach who has full belief that his team is going to find a way to make the postseason.

"It's a test every week in this league, no question about it," Harbaugh said. "I really feel like I know what the outcome is going to be. Stalwarts, that's what they do.

"The outcome didn't go their way but get back to work," Harbaugh added. "That's what I'm seeing out of our guys and what I've been seeing for the last 15 weeks."

The Bolts host the Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Week 15. Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. (PT).

2. Waiting on injury updates

The Chargers had a handful of players get banged up Sunday night in Kansas City.

Quarterback Justin Herbert, of course, missed one play in the first half with what Harbaugh called a "contusion" postgame.

Tight end Will Dissly sustained a shoulder injury in the first half and did not play over the final two quarters.

"Waiting for the updates," Harbaugh said. "Got in pretty late last night. Guys are being evaluated today."

The Chargers flew home right after the Chiefs game and arrived back to The Bolt around 2:30 a.m. (PT).

3. Praise for Stone Smartt

With Dissly out of action and Hayden Hurst on Injured Reserve, it was Stone Smartt who rose to the challenge against the Chiefs.

Smartt had 54 yards on three catches, all of which moved the chains and got the Bolts offense a fresh set of downs.

"Really proud of Stone," Harbaugh said. "Now let's build, build, build. That skillset, his ability to make the contested catch on big downs, that came up yesterday and he came through."

Smartt's first catch went for 21 yards on second-and-16 from the Chiefs 31-yard line. Gus Edwards scored two plays later.

Smartt later hauled in a 24-yard pass to get the Chargers down to the Chiefs 11-yard line. The Bolts took the lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass just three plays later.

And his final reception came on the Chargers final drive, a second-and-7 reception that gained nine yards and moved the Chargers near midfield.

"Just real excited for him," Harbaugh said. "Gets his opportunity, we talk about it every time, just about every press conference.

"Guys has an opportunity, it's there, he's been chipping away at it and gets his opportunity and excels," Harbaugh added. "Just want to give guys like that a hug. Great to see him have that success."

Smartt, who initially played quarterback in college at Old Dominion, switched to wide receiver in 2021. He joined the Bolts as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Smartt had 11 catches for 155 yards in 2023, including a 51-yard touchdown against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

He has six catches for 98 yards so far this season.

4. Breaking down pivotal plays

The Chargers loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night didn't come down to just one play.

But Harbaugh acknowledged Monday that there were a few plays he looked at in hindsight the following day.

The first came on the Bolts first drive when they faced fourth-and-9 at the Chiefs 39-yard line.

In a bit of no man's land, Harbaugh decided to punt instead of send Cameron Dicker out for a lengthy field goal try.

"Ball on the 39-yard line, would have been a 57-yard field goal," Harbaugh said. "We were going to go for it if it was fourth-and-4."

Harbaugh also noted the windy and misty conditions played a role in deciding to punt.

"57, 58 ... yeah, could be. That's a risk with of field position with the ball sitting there at the minus-47 for them," Harbaugh said. "Yeah, probably should have tried the other way, but you always want to try the other way when you don't win a game. Like, 'OK, that's a spot where I could have attempted a field goal or gone for it on fourth-and-9.'"

Another key play happened on the Bolts final drive when they handed off on third-and-16 from the Chiefs 24.

Harbaugh on Monday explained his reasoning to run it rather than put the ball in the air. Dicker hit the ensuing 38-yard field goal for a 17-16 lead.

"Wanted to give ourselves a chance for the field goal. Tough to pick up a third-and-16. Tough to do," Harbaugh said. "Don't want to take a sack like we did on the previous play.

"Again, got the field goal, but if I had to do it over again? I don't know if I'd do it differently the next game, but looking back on that one when you lost the game, we'd sure like the opportunity to try something different," Harbaugh added.

Dicker was on the field for the next play when he flubbed the kickoff short of the landing zone, giving the Chiefs the ball at their own 40-yard line with 4:35 left in regulation.

Harbaugh said the plan was for Dicker to kick the ball to the goal line and force a Chiefs return so that the Chargers could try and pin Kansas City deep.

Harbaugh said the Chargers had done just that on their previous two kickoffs.

The kickoff after the Bolts first touchdown landed at the 4 and was returned to the 27.

And the kickoff after Quentin Johnston's score was also returned to the 27 but was moved back to the 15 due to a holding call on the Chiefs.

"Make them return it and see if we could pick up five, 10, 15 yards even so their drive would be harder on that ensuing drive," Harbaugh said.

Instead, it was the Chiefs who gained the extra 10 to 15 yards of field position by starting at their own 40.

5. A look at the 2nd-half offense

The Chargers offense flipped the switch in the second half Sunday after a sluggish opening half.

The Bolts managed just 127 yards of offense in the first half in Kansas City, with only 34 of those yards coming on the ground.

But the second-half offense, which also produced all 17 points, racked up 161 total yards, with 60 coming through the run.

"We had more productive run plays in the second half, more run plays," Harbaugh said. "I think that's fair, pretty obvious that we ran the ball better in the second half."

Harbaugh later referenced the effort and work ethic of his team that has him confident for the final month ahead.

"Down-to-down, I just see our guys giving it everything they have every single play," Harbaugh said.