Justin Herbert’s injury caps another lost Chargers season

ONE DAY AFTER After a 24-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, safety Derwin James Jr. insisted the Los Angeles Chargers still have a great team.

“We just haven’t been connected all year,” he said.

The problem with James' assumption — the same one that almost every player and coach has made about this team at some point over the past three seasons — is that there isn't much evidence that the Chargers are a great team or have been in the past. three seasons.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack, arriving in 2022, was honest about the state of this team after the loss. When a reporter asked him if he wondered if the Chargers were still a good team, Mack interrupted before the question was finished.

“That’s the point,” he said. “[We’re] I’m not taking advantage of the opportunity, man.”

Missed opportunities are all too familiar to Mack.

He highlighted his time with the Bears in Chicago, where he played from 2018 to 2021. That Bears defense, Mack noted, included All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller, Pro Bowl defensive end Akiem Hicks and cornerback Prince Amukamara, but never won a playoff game. in two appearances.

“I would have, I could have, I should have, it doesn’t matter,” Mack said. “Come to think of it, we took L's. Right now we're taking L's.”

That's the story of these Chargers: high expectations leading to huge disappointments.

Sunday's loss to the Broncos ended with Justin Herbert, the Chargers' $262.5 million quarterback, watching from the sidelines in street clothes with his broken right index finger late season cover hidden in his sweatshirt pocket, while Chargers fans chanted for the team to fire coach Brandon. Staley.

The Chargers entered this season hoping to contend for a Super Bowl, but are instead 5-8 as they head into a “Thursday Night Football” game against the Las Vegas Raiders (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

“Obviously frustrated,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said Sunday, “the season hasn’t gone the way you want it to.”

CHARGER COACHING This position was expected to be perhaps the most attractive opening of the 2021 hiring cycle, thanks in large part to Herbert, a big-armed quarterback who was coming off a season in which he beat nearly all rookie passing records, but failed to secure a playoff spot at age 7. -9.

If the Chargers could improve their defense, it looked like they had the makings of a real contender. So they hired Staley, the defensive coordinator of the big Los Angeles Rams in 2020, to improve a defense that had allowed the 23rd most points per game.

But Staley's freshman defense was third-worst in points per game (27) and rushing yards allowed (138.9), and the team went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The Chargers went star hunting ahead of the 2022 season and landed two former All-Pros: trading for Mack and signing cornerback JC Jackson, adding to a defense that already had Pro Bowlers Derwin James and Joey Bosa. They thought they were suitors.

I feel like up to this point in my career I've accomplished things, but at the end of the day you want to get to a Super Bowl and you want to win it,” Mack said during his first press conference at training camp. “And that’s the only thing that concerns me at this point in my career.”

Instead, the Chargers finished that season with a historic playoff collapse, surrendering a 27-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars – the third-largest comeback in playoff history.

So they still made changes in the off-season. Their rushing attack was the third-worst in the NFL last season, averaging 89.6 yards per game. They fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replaced him with Kellen Moore. The Chargers had to “marry the running and passing game,” Staley said.

Now, however, the Chargers are the worst they've been under Staley.

They traded Jackson after signing him to an $82.5 million contract a season ago, prompting general manager Tom Telesco to apologize to the team's defensive backs. Staley responded with frustration to questions about his defense and struggling first-round receiver Quentin Johnston. The offense, which was the team's best unit, struggled to score and still couldn't move the ball. The defense still has many of the same flaws.

The Chargers have some of the biggest names in the NFL: Mack, Bosa, James, Allen, Herbert and Austin Ekeler. They all have stats and individual accolades, but they haven't come together to produce lasting success.

Sunday's defeat is the latest example.

“It's a mix of young and older. You see the older guys trying to push and show by our actions that we want this shit, but everyone has to want it,” Mack said after the team's loss. Broncos, “everyone I gotta do the job.

THE “STALEY FIRE” the chants grew louder as the Broncos converted four straight third downs in the fourth quarter and the Chargers botched one missed tackle after another. The drive ended with a touchdown to effectively put the game away, increasing Denver's lead to 17 points with just over three minutes left.

Outside of the special teams unit, which is among the best in the league, the Chargers have struggled everywhere else as the offense and defense have fluctuated from impressive to dreadful.

Through the first 12 weeks, their defense ranked last in the NFL in yards allowed per game (390.6), but as of Week 12, the unit moved up to 12th in that category, allowing 313.3 yards per game.

Meanwhile, after posting the eighth-highest scoring average through the first 11 weeks (25.9), the offense has stalled, now with the second-lowest scoring average per game (7.67). since week 12.

Those struggles continued Sunday with Herbert, who left the game late in the second quarter 0-for-8 on third down, and backup Easton Stick, who added four more incompletions on third down. It was the Chargers' third-most missed conversions (0-for-12) in the last 40 years. They were also sacked six times and lost for the fourth time in five games.

Staley called it the most difficult period of his career, noting how the Chargers have been “right there.”

As for his professional status, Staley, who has one year left on his contract, said he is focusing on himself.

“I think every time I go out, I get better at this job. Every day I get better,” he said. “That’s what gives me confidence.”

Now the Chargers will travel to Las Vegas and play the final four games of the regular season with Stick, who has never started an NFL game, and Stick will be without Allen, who leads the NFL in receptions. The Chargers ruled out Allen for Week 15 with a heel injury.

Stick threw for 179 yards in relief against the Broncos. He said he had “no nerves” and pointed to his college experience at North Dakota State University, where he became the winningest quarterback in FCS history with a 49- 3.

“I understand North Dakota State isn’t the National Football League, but I’m used to winning,” Stick said. “It’s the only way I know how.”

The Chargers will need it.