Trailing 21-13 at halftime Thursday night against the Denver Broncos, some wondered if the Los Angeles Chargers had any resolve left after going through their worst four-quarter stretch of the season.

The Chargers put some doubts to rest getting back on track and getting closer to wrapping up a playoff spot.

Justin Herbert passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 19-yarder to Derius Davis early in the fourth quarter, as the Chargers rallied for a 34-27 victory.

Los Angeles (9-6) have a 97% probability of making the playoffs with the win according to the NFL. They can wrap up their second postseason berth in three seasons Sunday with losses by Indianapolis and Miami.

“It was a total team effort by everyone. It was phenomenal,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “The test and challenge is how you are going to respond. They went back to work and stayed the course.”

The Chargers’ comeback also included Cameron Dicker making the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL in 48 years. He was good from 57 yards on the final play of the first half to pull the Chargers to 21-13.

Denver (9-6) could have clinched a playoff spot but had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Broncos still have an 85% chance of making it, but they have tough remaining tests at Cincinnati on 28 December and at home against Kansas City in Week 18.

“Obviously, a disappointing loss. There was a lot at stake, and we know that,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “We had a fast start, and then uncharacteristically this season, we didn’t finish or play nearly well enough in the second half, both offensively and defensively.”

The Broncos appeared well on their way to wrapping up their first postseason berth since 2015 after they scored on their first three drives to go up 21-10. But after Wil Lutz’s 41-yard field goal midway through the third quarter gave the Broncos a 24-13 advantage, the Chargers stormed back.

“First three drives, 21 points, and then just kind of stalled,” said Bo Nix, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. “We got the same defense (in the second half). Just for whatever reason, we couldn’t get going.”

Gus Edwards – who had 14 carries for 68 yards – went off five yards off left end for his second touchdown of the game to get the Bolts within 24-19, but the two-point conversion was no good when Herbert was stopped short of the goal line.

Edwards also burrowed in from the 1 in the first quarter to tie it at 7.

After Denver went three-and-out for the second time in three possessions, the Chargers took their first lead. On first-and-10 from the Denver 19, Herbert – who completed 23 of 30 passes with an interception – scrambled left and threw across his body off his left foot to Davis with 12:29 remaining.

“We had him on a little bubble out of the backfield. I scrambled out, saw the pressure and he just turned upfield and made an incredible play,” Herbert said.

Herbert then found Joshua Palmer in the back of the end zone for the 2-point conversion. Palmer made a one-handed grab before going out of bounds to make it 27-24.

Los Angeles put it out of reach with 2:27 remaining on Herbert’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Hassan Haskins.

Lutz narrowly made a 55-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining to get Denver within a touchdown, but Los Angeles’ Nick Niemann recovered the onside kick to dash any hopes of a comeback.

Herbert completed passes to 10 players, including Ladd McConkey, who had six receptions for 87 yards.

Nix had a pair of touchdown passes in the first half – a one-yard pass to Michael Burton off a rollout and a six-yard throw to Devaughn Vele in the left corner of the end zone – and completed 15 of 21 passes for 155 yards before halftime.

Audric Estime’s three-yard run off right guard gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. It was only the third time this season Denver reached the end zone on their opening possession.

The Chargers were outscored 48-13 in four quarters that included the second half against Tampa Bay and first half against Denver.

Going into halftime, the defense had a stretch where it had allowed scores on 13 of 18 drives (including eight touchdowns) and forced only two punts in seven quarters.

Instead of Harbaugh addressing the team at halftime, it was safety Derwin James.

“I feel like, as players, we need to take it upon ourselves. This is our team too,” James said. “And I feel like, man, my message was simple. Man, it’s time for us to play ball. And I feel like, as a team, we just came out and did that. It was nothing rah, rah, rah. It was just, it’s time to go, man. It’s time for us to play our best ball in December, January. I feel like we did that today.”

Denver gained 212 yards on their first drive and 229 in the first half, but just 107 after halftime.

Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers took advantage of a seldom-used fair-catch kick, which allows a team that has just made a fair catch to try a free kick for three points. The kick is attempted from the line of scrimmage, and the defending team must stand 10 yards away.

The Chargers were able to try it because Denver’s Tremon Smith committed fair-catch interference on what would have been the final play of the first half when Los Angeles’ Derius Davis attempted to field Riley Dixon’s punt at the Chargers 38.

The penalty moved the ball to the Denver 47 for an untimed down. The Chargers also were the last team to successfully execute a free kick when Ray Wersching converted from 45 yards for San Diego on 21 November 1976, against Buffalo.

SEATTLE, WA – The man who is wanted for the murder of a Seattle Metro bus driver was arrested a year ago for the murder of his roommate, but released due to a lack of evidence, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Seattle Police say 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack murdered 59-year-old Shawn Yim early Wednesday morning.

Yim, a King County Metro driver, only had two passengers on the bus when he was killed: the accused murderer and a witness, who FOX 13 Seattle spoke to on Thursday morning. 

Seattle Police released a photo of the accused killer more than 30 hours after the murder.

However, police tell FOX 13 Seattle someone reportedly saw Sitzlack downtown around 8 p.m. Wednesday. That is about five miles from where the attack happened in the University District, and 15 hours after the attack.

Seattle police would not provide any more details on the sighting of Sitzlack.

“We are seeking the public’s help in finding this person,” said Detective Eric Muñoz with SPD. “The Metro coach drivers all have his photograph, every police officer in the city has his photograph and information.”

A year ago, Sitizlack was behind bars for a similar incident.

Officials from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office said Sitzlack was arrested for murder in connection with the death of his roommate. 

However, no charges were filed, and Sitzlack was released.

“Both police and prosecutors looked at the admissible evidence and thought we can’t disprove the claim of self-defense,” said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Sitzlack claimed his roommate tried to kill him with a machete. He fought back and stabbed his roommate to death, then called the police, according to the report. 

“If King County prosecutors had the evidence to charge him with murder, we would have charged him with murder,” said McNerthney.

The transit union is offering a $10k reward to the person who helps find the murderer. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Seattle Police Department’s Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000. 

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• U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.
• Enrico Letta, former prime minister of Italy, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday that the EU needed to be prepared to retaliate to Trump’s threat.
• Donald Trump made threats of sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners a key part of his presidential campaign.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.

“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform shortly after 1 a.m. ET.

According to U.S. figures, the country’s goods and services trade deficit with the European Union was $131.3 billion in 2022.

A senior EU diplomat, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic, told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro that they were not surprised by Trump’s comment Friday and that energy was a “good option” for buying more U.S. goods.

Another EU official, who also did not want to be named for the same reason, told Amaro that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Trump last night.

The comment comes after EU heads of state held their final meeting of the year on Thursday, during which the topic of Europe-U.S. relations was discussed.

“The message is clear: the European Union is committed to continue working with the United States, pragmatically, to strengthen transatlantic ties,” European Council President António Costa said following the meeting.

Trump has made threats of sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners including China, Mexico and Canada a signature part of his presidential campaign — and he’s continued the narrative as he prepares to enter office, despite economists warning of risks to domestic inflation.

Analysts say there is high uncertainty over the extent of the tariffs Trump will be willing — or able — to follow through with, and how much of his rhetoric is a starting point for striking deals.

Enrico Letta, former prime minister of Italy and dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday that the EU needed to be prepared to retaliate to Trump’s threat.

“I think it is a transactional approach, we have to respond to this transactional approach. [Trump] mixes together energy and tariffs on goods, manufacturing and so on. I think it’s incorrect because the two topics are completely different,” Letta said.

“If the deal is proposed by Trump — such an asymmetric deal on topics that are not linked one to the other — I think we have to do the same.”

“Considering that the most asymmetric part is the relationship on the financial side, we have to start considering that maybe replying on the financial side could be a solution,” he said.

The U.S. is the biggest recipient of EU goods, accounting for nearly a fifth of the bloc’s exports. The U.S.’s biggest trade deficit with the EU is in machinery and vehicles, with the gap totalling 102 billion euros ($106 billion) in 2023. In energy, Washington had a trade surplus with the European bloc worth 70 billion euros.

The U.S. is the world’s top oil producer and accounted for 22% of global supply in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which predicts record crude oil production in 2024. Producers anticipate even higher supply levels in a deregulatory environment under Trump.

The EU has already indicated it is expecting to purchase more U.S. energy in the coming years. Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that replacing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports with U.S. volumes would be cheaper, and that the EU would look to engage and negotiate on the matter when Trump takes office in 2025.

Ahead of the U.S. election in November, EU officials spent months preparing for a lurch toward U.S. protectionism and for a more confrontational relationship with the White House, in the event of a Trump victory. The EU has also made moves toward strengthening its relationship with the U.K., which left the bloc in 2020, as a guard against potential clashes over trade and defense.

European stock markets were sharply lower on Friday morning, while the euro strengthened 0.2% against the U.S. dollar to $1.038.

CNBC has contacted the European Commission for comment on Trump’s remarks.