Herbert somehow escapes from this Miami vise

Quarterback avoids sack and connects downfield to set up winning field goal

- BY SAM FARMER

LITTLE-USED running back Kimani Vidal ran for 124 yards and turned a dump-off pass into a touchdown in L.A.'s road victory.

(CARMEN MANDATO Getty Images)

The play will live on a loop in Jim Harbaugh’s mind.

Thirty-four seconds left. The Chargers trailing by a point and needing 20 yards to get into range for a field goal. Justin Herbert drops back under heavy pressure from his right side, and suddenly has Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips hanging on his torso like a 260-pound Hula-Hoop.

The quarterback — in what his coach would call a “Hercules” move — twisted free of a sure sack and completed a short pass to Ladd McConkey, who shook a defender with an ankle-snapping juke and picked up 42 yards before running out of bounds at the 17.

It wasn’t just the signature moment of a 29-27 victory over the Dolphins — cemented by Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the day — but a Houdini-like escape from a third loss in a row.

“He's a mighty man,” Harbaugh said of his quarterback. “I mean, there's only a few in the game who can make that play." The coach, having played quarterback in the NFL, knows the difficulty of keeping your balance and your wits to make that play. It was somewhat similar to Herbert's sidearmed, "Matrix"worthy touchdown pass in the win over Denver in Week 3.