Bolts exploit Dallas’ defense, 4 other things to know about Chargers vs. Cowboys

With a victory on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the Los Angeles Chargers will make it two straight seasons with 11 wins (and counting in 2025?). And if things go right on Sunday at Houston or Monday night at Indianapolis, the franchise will do something they haven’t done for well over a decade.

The Chargers’ postseason formula is simple. A win at Dallas paired by either a Texans or Colts loss this week will put Jim Harbaugh’s club in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. That’s something the team hasn’t managed to do since winning four straight AFC West titles from 2006-09.

Since that ugly 35-6 setback at Jacksonville in Week 11, the Bolts have won three straight and limited the Raiders, Eagles, and Chiefs to a combined 46 points. On the other side of the ball, it hasn’t been pretty. Quarterback Justin Herbert has shown a lot of resilience, leading the team to those victories despite being sacked 11 times and committing four of the team’s five turnovers in those games.

The real bottom line here is that the AFC West is now a two-team race between the 10-4 Chargers and 12-2 Denver Broncos, the latter hosting the AFC South leading Jaguars on Sunday. The Bolts need to be within one game of Sean Payton’s team as these clubs clash in Denver in Week 18.

As for the Cowboys, they were eliminated from playoff contention with the Philadelphia Eagles’ 29-18 win at Washington on Saturday as the Birds clinched the NFC East. Are they capable of playing postseason spoiler on Sunday afternoon?

Chargers vs. Cowboys History

While these interconference foes clash for the third time in five seasons, this marks the first time the Chargers will visit AT&T Stadium since 2017. That season, the Bolts came away with a 28-6 victory. The last two meetings between these clubs have taken place at SoFi Stadium. Both resulted in 20-17 wins by Dallas, the former on a Sunday in 2021 and the latter on a Monday night in 2023.

Chargers’ OLB Tuli Tuipulotu No Longer Under the Radar

It’s hard to be ignored when you are tied for fifth in the NFL with a dozen sacks. Chargers’ edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu is having a career year when it comes to getting after the quarterback. He’s started all 14 games in 2025 and has amassed 39 defensive stops, as well as two forced fumbles and three passes defensed.

The D in Dallas this season stands for Disaster, as in the Cowboys’ horrific defense. It was an issue a year ago and things have only gotten worse. Only the Bengals (437) have allowed more points (420). Dallas’ defenders have surrendered a whopping 50 offensive touchdowns—31 of those scores through the air.

Keep an Eye on Cowboys’ TE Jake Ferguson

In the Week 11 loss at Jacksonville, the Chargers’ ground attack was limited to a season-low 42 yards. Since then, the Bolts have rolled up a combined 455 yards on the ground (151.7 yards per game) in wins over the Raiders, Eagles, and Chiefs. Dallas has held only two opponents to less than 100 yards rushing.

Understandably, Cowboys’ wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb get plenty of attention. The former has totaled 81 catches for 1,212 yards and eight TDs. Second on the team in receptions (77) and touchdown grabs (7) is tight end Jake Ferguson. Those catch and TD numbers are already career highs.

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