INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Chargers have long been synonymous with losing in the most heartbreaking fashion.

As Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase danced in the end zone in the fourth quarter Sunday after helping Cincinnati rally from an 18-point first-half deficit, this game appeared to be another chapter in a book laden with Chargers disappointments.

But Sunday night was different. The defense and quarterback Justin Herbert buoyed the Chargers as they avoided another late-game meltdown to beat the Bengals 34-27 at SoFi Stadium. The win was the most glaring declaration of how different these Chargers are under coach Jim Harbaugh.

"This team came with more purpose," linebacker Daiyan Henley said. "Maybe it wasn't there last year for whatever reason, but right now we have purpose, we have belief."

Outside linebacker Joey Bosa is the longest-tenured Charger, drafted by the team in San Diego in 2016.

In a meeting with the defense on Saturday, he told his teammates about a cynical feeling that would overcome Chargers teams in big games that they would always somehow lose. But Bosa said he told the group this year felt different and that he had a special feeling about this Chargers team, a feeling he had never felt in his career.

"Having Coach Harbaugh and having the whole staff, I think, has shifted the culture here," Bosa said.

He continued: "I feel like we have a shot. ... It just feels a little different right now. It feels like if we keep doing what we need to and preparing the way we do, not getting comfortable, and just continuing to improve every week, I think we have a shot at something special."

Coming into Sunday's game, the Chargers boasted the league's best-scoring defense, holding opponents to 13.1 points per game. But they had faced the league's second-easiest schedule, according to ESPN analytics, raising questions about how good this defense really was.

Cincinnati, which was sixth in the league in points per game (26.1), would be the first test for this unit. Henley said Harbaugh talked to the team Friday about the many critics of the defense to motivate his players for Sunday.

In the end, the Chargers' defense fluctuated from stout to abysmal. The 27 points allowed were a season high, and their 21 points allowed in the second half were the most they've allowed since Week 15 of last season, when they gave up 21 to the Las Vegas Raiders. (Coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired after that loss.)

But the defense got crucial stops late, including a hit on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow by Henley that forced an incomplete pass.

"Defense was at our best when our best was needed," Harbaugh said.

Herbert took the field with 45 seconds remaining on the Chargers' 16-yard-line and quickly turned L.A.'s potential heartbreak into a storybook ending.

He connected with wide receiver Ladd McConkey for completions of 28 and 27 yards to put the Chargers in position for a field goal to seal the game. On their next drive, however, he handed the ball to running back J.K. Dobbins, who broke free for a 29-yard touchdown to effectively end the game.

It was Herbert's 15th winning drive since he entered the league in 2020, the second most in the NFL over that span. He finished with 297 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns and 5 carries for 65 rushing yards.

"Start the MVP talks," Dobbins said.