'We dodged a bullet': Jim Harbaugh shares more details about Chargers elevator rescue

Jim Harbaugh heaped praise on Dallas Fire-Rescue Saturday, following Friday’s scary incident in which the department was called upon to rescue several Los Angeles Chargers players and traveling staff members from a stuck elevator.

“We dodged a bullet. I mean, I usually think of dodging a bullet of, you know, dodging an injury in football,” Harbaugh said after the Chargers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 26-19 in their preseason finale. “But, I mean, it was a shared experience. Eleven or 12 of our players were there for about two hours, and that's a shared experience. I mean, brought them closer together. I just missed it, you know, being on that elevator, and it's like, I wish I could have been there with those guys.”

According to WFAA.com, a total of 15 people were inside the elevator at the Westin hotel in Downtown Dallas Friday night in advance of the Chargers’ Saturday exhibition against the Cowboys. The Dallas Fire-Rescue team found that the elevator was stuck in a "blind shaft" somewhere between the third and 15th floors of the hotel.

The Chargers announced in a statement that each person in the elevator was assisted one-by-one through its ceiling panel and into an adjacent elevator.

Harbaugh revealed that quarterback Justin Herbert was among the Chargers players trapped inside.

All things Chargers: Latest Los Angeles Chargers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

“The remarkable things that came out of it was, you know, to a guy, (Chargers cornerback) Tarheeb Still, a young rookie player is like ‘Justin Herbert's a leader. He was a rock, you know, kept everybody calm.’”

Chargers Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts said during Saturday’s broadcast that his wife and son were also inside the elevator.

“Everybody kept their poise. And, you know, get in those situations, and it's a test of wills, you know. And I was proud of each of the guys and the two women that were on that elevator,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, that's that. That's a win, you know, you feel good about yourself. You got it. You were challenged. And it was a test of will.”

Harbaugh told reporters postgame that he invited Dallas Fire-Rescue to Saturday’s preseason game following the incident.

“Yeah, oh my gosh, Dallas, the Dallas fire department. Take a deep, long bow. You know, I said at one point it's like, this is Dallas' finest,” Harbaugh said. “Without the Dallas fire department that … could have been a lot worse. It would have been a lot more hours, who knows how it would end? But I mean, those guys were great.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.