EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Jim Harbaugh has his Chargers at 6-3. The toughest part of their schedule is up next. They play four teams with high-powered offenses.
They are quite possibly playing four playoff teams. Up first will be the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football.
Through ten weeks, the Chargers have been featured in one primetime game, but in the next four weeks, they will have three games with the lights on.
"Somebody wants to see us play, right?" edge rusher Bud Dupree said. "We got to prove them right. We can't go out here and piss on our legs. We got to work harder and turn it up more."
The phrase "piss on our legs" means they need to step up and not be scared of the moment. Teammate Khalil Mack found Dupree's phrasing entertaining but added to it.
"Shit, piss running down your leg is one way to put it," Mack said, laughing. "But I feel like just being ready and preparing because you get these team's best ball in November is the football you remember."
The Chargers are 2-0 in November and have been playing good football. Their offense has scored 54 points in the last two games, and their defense has 13 sacks, but there is a slight issue.
There is a narrative that even though the defense is allowing 13.1 points a game (1st in the NFL), 302.1 yards per game (6th in the NFL), and 13 takeaways (2nd in the NFL), it hasn't beaten a team with a winning record or a quarterback who can challenge it.
They have wins against Gardner Minshew, Bryce Young, Bo Nix, Spencer Rattler, Jameis Winston, and Will Levis.
The players are questioning why they are being doubted.
"So what is the difference between us and the Chiefs?" Dupree asked. "I'm for real. Can you answer that?"
So far, the Chiefs have beaten Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Kirk Cousins, the following three quarterbacks his Chargers are facing.
Kansas City beat them by a combined 13 points.
"So why they saying it?" Dupree asked.
The Chargers are barely about to play those three quarterbacks, plus Patrick Mahomes again. To their credit, they did hold Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and the Pittsburgh Steelers to 20 points or less.
"So call a Tomato, tomato, whatever you want to call it," Dupree said. "We're gonna continue to grind and continue to work hard."
They are going to need to prove themselves starting this Sunday against Cincinnati. They feature quarterback Joe Burrow, receiver Ja" Marr Chase, and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. They each lead the NFL in a category: Burrow in passing yards, Chase in receiving yards, and Hendrickson in sacks.
The Bengals are walking into SoFi Stadium in a similar position to the Chargers. The teams they have beaten aren't exactly at the top of the NFL food chain, and they have three more losses than the Chargers, who are 4-6.
"Their record can fool someone," Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley said. "Their record may not depict the kind of team they are and we know that."
Cincinnati is coming off a one-point loss to the Ravens in a high-powered offensive game with ten touchdowns. They are hungry to get into the playoffs and have a good opportunity, being only one game behind the Denver Broncos for the fifth seed.
On the other hand, the Chargers have a good opportunity to extend their lead as the sixth seed over the seventh-seeded Broncos.
Sunday night will begin "must-win" territory for the Chargers. The following six games will define what kind of team they have and will be moving forward.
They will face the Bengals, Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs, Buccaneers and Broncos. Two of the six teams could possibly face them in the playoffs.
"We're trying to go plus four, and the only way to do that is to go 1-0," Henley said. "So right now, we're focused on getting some Bengals and trying to keep things rolling."
It starts on Sunday. The offense will need JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Co. ready to exploit the Bengals' secondary. The offensive line will need to keep Hendrickson and the pass rush off of quarterback Justin Herbert.
On the defensive side, the front seven will need to step up big time and do what they have been doing lately—get after the quarterback. Their 13 sacks in the last two games are astonishing; they need to continue. He can't get the ball to Chase and the receiver group if they disrupt Burrow.
"It's important that we put the game on our shoulders, the edge group," Bosa said.
The defense has only allowed 12.1% of touchdowns on drives, which is the lowest in the NFL.
These next few weeks will be challenging as they face some of the best teams in the NFL. Those opportunities will show if this team is the real deal and ready to take on the big dogs.
"Just making sure we're clicking on all cylinders is gonna be a challenge," Mack said, "And I love challenges."