Chargers players vouch for Brandon Staley following loss to Jaguars

Chargers players showed their support for head coach Brandon Staley, who is currently under fire.

Following the third-largest collapse in NFL postseason history from a 27-0 lead to a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars in the Wild Card round, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley’s job status is not entirely secure.

Staley made some questionable decisions, including playing his starters for most of a meaningless game against the Broncos in Week 18. It resulted in wide receiver Mike Williams injuring his back and unable to play.

Then, Staley endured the playoff meltdown in Jacksonville.

Despite the many analysts and fans that think Staley could get the boot, players of the team are fully supportive of him and believe that he should remain as Los Angeles’ head coach, including quarterback Justin Herbert.

“Everyone would be lucky to have a coach like Staley. He’s been an incredible leader and has the respect of everyone on our team,” Herbert said. “He’s genuine, he’s himself and has been the same person for the past two years.

Herbert added that he has complete trust in the Chargers’ coaching staff and front office.

Staley has a 19-16 record, including the playoffs, in his two seasons. He led the Chargers to their first playoff appearance since 2018, despite dealing with a slew of injuries to key players, including edge defender Joey Bosa, who missed 12 games with a groin injury.

“I really do trust these coaches. He’s a fresh head coach in this league. To expect he’s going to know everything right away is kind of silly,” Bosa said. “I think we need to just keep building. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

The Chargers’ first-half efforts were near perfection, as they committed five turnovers and scored 27 points. But they struggled to match the Jaguars’ halftime adjustments in all phases.

Despite the second-half meltdown, star safety Derwin James says he 100% believes in the coaching staff.

“I don’t feel like it happens overnight,” James said. “I feel like what we built here and what we’ve continued to build every day it’s something special. And that first half definitely showed that.”

James added that he’s open to using his voice to make his case for Staley to return.

“That’s my guy. I feel like he’s put a lot into it, and a lot of the guys in the locker room believe in him. I definitely believe in him and we’re gonna get it right.”

Chargers HC Brandon Staley speaks on Joey Bosa’s consequential penalty vs. Jaguars

Brandon Staley said Joey Bosa was ‘frustrated’ when he committed a brutal infraction that helped the Jaguars win.

Edge defender Joey Bosa aided the Jacksonville Jaguars to achieve the unthinkable in their 27-point comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Wild Card round with a crucial penalty he committed late in the second half.

After a Jaguars touchdown, Bosa removed his helmet, slamming it to the ground to give Jacksonville prime field position at the Chargers’ 1-yard to convert a two-point attempt to pull within a field goal of the lead.

Head coach Brandon Staley explained the gaffe to reporters after the game and made it clear that Bosa’s vexation had been brewing over the course of the night.

“I think he was frustrated. I think he felt like there were a bunch of things that kind of accumulated throughout the game and tried to talk through it with the officials,” Staley said.

“But we can’t lose our composure like that. We need to make sure that we stay on the high side of things, and we can’t hurt the team that way.”

While several aspects of Los Angeles’ second-half effort played significant roles in this epic collapse, Bosa’s mistake is sure to stick in the minds of Charger fans as they ponder on the loss.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert on Wild Card loss to Jaguars: ‘It falls on us for not executing’

Justin Herbert seemed shellshocked in his comments following the Chargers’ epic collapse in their Wild Card loss to the Jaguars.

After blowing a 27-point lead in the AFC Wild Card game, the Los Angeles Chargers’ season is officially over. They inexplicably lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in this game, and expectations are that heads will roll for it.

Quarterback Justin Herbert addressed the loss after the game in his comments to the media at Los Angeles’ final post-game press conference.

When asked if the Jaguars’ approach was significantly different in the second half, Herbert told reporters that whatever changes Jacksonville may have made were only part of the story.

“A little bit,” Herbert explained. “We got a lot of respect for the Jaguars and their defense, and they’re a really tough defense. It falls on us for not executing in the second half. We were able to put up some points in the first half, but you got to be able to play four quarters as a NFL team.”

While their season may be over, Herbert and the rest of the Chargers’ offense are sure to get to work on making sure that they can better prepare and execute next year if they manage to get another opportunity at a playoff run in 2023.

Studs and duds from Chargers’ 31-30 loss to Jaguars in Wild Card

Highlighting the good and bad from the Chargers’ loss to the Jaguars.

The Chargers blew a 27-0 lead. In the Wild Card round. After forcing five first-half turnovers.

Sigh.

I guess we have to talk about it, right?

Stud: Asante Samuel Jr.

Samuel had a historic playoff debut, snagging three interceptions in the first half to help the Chargers jump to a 27-7 halftime lead. The second-year corner also defended three other passes to bring his total number to six, making up nearly half of the Chargers team total. Samuel won all night by playing physical, much to the chagrin of the Jaguars fans in Jacksonville. But Samuel keyed in early on to the referees’ willingness to let the DBs play, and that aggressiveness paid off in spades for the entire game. Samuel did falter in the second half once, on a touchdown to Marvin Jones, on which the corner was left in the dust as Jones found open space as Trevor Lawrence extended the play.

Dud: Lead retention

Again: this game was 27-0. TWENTY SEVEN. To. NOTHING. For the last 34:25 of the game, the Chargers were outscored 31-3, allowing a Jaguars touchdown to close the first half and then failing to score anything but a 50-yard Cameron Dicker field goal midway through the third quarter. Once LA jumped out to that lead, they seemingly just…stopped playing. The offense lost all of its juice despite the momentum you’d think they’d carry from scoring so many easy touchdowns. The defense stopped playing aggressively, which is how the Chargers generated four of its five turnovers in the first place. Trevor Lawrence took advantage, launching three second-half touchdowns and playing like the quarterback he’s always been billed as.

Stud: Points off turnovers

Los Angeles scored 20 of their 30 points off turnovers in this one, a welcome departure from the rest of the season where the Chargers failed at nearly every opportunity to convert off turnovers generated by the defense. Yes, LA had a remarkably short field in most of these cases: touchdown drives of 18 and 16 yards and a field goal drive of 1 yard that stalled inside the 5. The Chargers also drove 57 yards for a field goal after the fourth down interception of Trevor Lawrence in the first quarter. Their only other ten points came after a one-yard three-and-out and a field goal sandwiched between two Jaguars touchdown drives. At the end of the day, their ability to convert on Jacksonville’s early mistakes kept the Chargers in the game.

Dud: Ja’Sir Taylor

It’s not really Taylor’s fault that he struggled on Saturday night, considering he had to replace Michael Davis midway through the game and play outside corner full-time for the first time outside of garbage time this season. Davis, who was in and out with a pectoral injury after an awkward tackle in the third quarter, is an impossibly high bar for another Charger to clear, given the quality of Davis’ play this season. Credit to Jacksonville, who keyed in on the matchup immediately and targeted Taylor fairly often to close the game. Taylor had a bad missed tackle of Marvin Jones in the third quarter, as well as a pass interference penalty that kept a Jaguars drive alive.

Stud: Trey Pipkins III

Pipkins was instrumental in keeping Justin Herbert mostly clean on Saturday. His performance against Josh Allen and Travon Walker was the latest feather in a cap that’s proven worthy of a contract extension. While other members of the Chargers’ offensive line had their ups and downs – Jamaree Salyer left the game early with an ankle injury, Matt Feiler gave up a pivotal sack, and Zion Johnson had an illegal man downfield penalty and sack allowed – Pipkins was solid all night. The first order of business after the coaching staff is sorted out, and there’s plenty to be done, should be getting Pipkins and his agent to the negotiating table for next season and beyond.

Dud: Derwin James Jr.

I thought this was an uncharacteristically poor game from James, who’s coming off a first-team Players’ All-Pro and second-team AP All-Pro selection earlier in the week. The stud safety didn’t seem to have it in the biggest moments on Saturday. The 39-yard deep crosser to Zay Jones to energize the Jacksonville crowd and bring the Jaguars within 10 was a blown coverage by James. His responsibility is the deep half, but he sees Lawrence’s eyes drift in his direction and thinks Lawrence wants the shallower route in front of him. James closes because the Chargers had played those routes aggressively all game, and nobody carries Jones across the field. Easy touchdown. James also had his fair share of issues trying to contain Christian Kirk, who came alive in the second half.

Stud: Gerald Everett

Without Mike Williams, it seemed like a fair question to ask where the offensive production for the Chargers was going to come from, considering Jacksonville would likely (and did) hone in on Keenan Allen. While Allen still had six catches for 61 yards, Everett led the team in receiving, matching Allen’s six catches but extending them for 109 yards and a score despite being forced out of the game momentarily with an injury. Everett’s role had shrunk in recent weeks with both Allen and Williams on the field, but Jacksonville really struggled to keep him contained over the middle and on crossing routes. The tight end took advantage and became one of the few reliable chain movers of the game for Justin Herbert. It’ll be interesting to see what LA elects to do now, as Everett’s contract will need to be renewed if he’s to suit up again for the Chargers. If this is his final game in the powder blues, though, he made it a good one.

Dud: General malaise

Where to start with this franchise? I was six years old when Nate Kaeding missed that field goal in 2004 that set up the playoff loss to the Jets. I was eight when Marlon McCree fumbled. My entire childhood and adolescence has been built upon the highs and lows of this team. The 2008 squad with the #1 offense and defense but the worst special teams in NFL history. Every Philip Rivers game of Herculean effort came up short. I’ve watched every second of it.

Saturday was perhaps the worst one yet. Maybe that’s recency bias, maybe it’s because I’m older now, or maybe it’s because I watched the game with my best friend, a Jaguars fan. But my gut says this is the worst one, especially when you add all the context together.

Brandon Staley playing his starters in Week 18 only to have Mike Williams get injured going to get a lot of attention, more than it already has. And it should! But the only reason, to hear Staley tell it, that they had to do that was because there was nobody else to play. The Chargers only carried five wide receivers on the active roster all season. They chose not to elevate one for Week 18 nor the playoff game, despite both being opportunities to do so. After Williams’ injury, only four healthy receivers remained available, which is why Keenan Allen played into the fourth quarter. On Saturday, once DeAndre Carter was ruled out with an ankle injury, the only receivers available were Allen, Josh Palmer, and Michael Bandy. What kind of sense does that make?

To harp on a point from before: the Chargers were up 27-0 in the second quarter. They forced five Jaguars turnovers, including four interceptions of Trevor Lawrence. People were ready to crown LA as divisional round participants. And then they just laid down and let Jacksonville author a comeback that nobody will ever forget. Lawrence got to pen the first chapter in what seems to be an illustrious playoff career, while Justin Herbert was left with nothing more than a rough draft. Primetime Herbert can pilot this team through anything, no matter the situation, people said. I remember saying the same thing about Rivers. It’s fair, too: LA has been blessed with transcendent, top-of-the-line QB play in nearly every season I’ve been alive to see. But that’s not enough for this organization. In my mind, it will continue not to be enough until I’m proven wrong.

Oh, and our phenom rookie kicker missed a field goal in a game that ended with a two-point margin after the opponent’s young kicker made theirs. We live in 2004 again.

The Chargers are a deeply, deeply cursed franchise. Chargering is not leaving the football lexicon anytime soon. It goes beyond execution on the field, beyond coaching, beyond the things we can see and quantify and understand.

See you next season to do it all again.

Top Twitter reactions to Chargers’ loss to Jaguars

How the internet reacted to the Chargers’ loss to the Jaguars on Saturday.

The Chargers’ 2022 season ended on Saturday night after they lost full grasp of a 27-0 lead, only to be defeated by the Jaguars, 31-30.

What seemed to be a ticket punched to the AFC Divisional Round turned into a ticket back to Los Angeles, where the team now has questions looming surrounding the state of the team, from top to bottom.

Following the Bolts’ loss to Jacksonville, here is how social media reacted.

Instant analysis of Chargers’ stunning loss to Jaguars in wild-card round

Recapping the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.

The Chargers fell victim to the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history as the Jaguars came from behind 27 points to win 31-30.

To recap the AFC wild-card bout between Los Angeles and Jacksonville, here is everything to know.

Chargers vs. Jaguars first-half highlights

Here are the Los Angeles Chargers’ first-half highlights from Saturday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Chargers are dominating the Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card round matchup, leading 27-7 at the half.

To get caught up with all the action, here are Los Angeles’ notable plays from the first half.

The Chargers got off to a scorching start.

On Trevor Lawrence’s first pass attempt, both Sebastian Joseph-Day and Joey Bosa got hands on the throw before it was intercepted by Drue Tranquill. Tranquill returned it 17 yards to give LA the ball on the Jaguars’ 18 and quiet the crowd.

The Chargers struck first after the Lawrence interception, as Austin Ekeler punched it in from 13 yards out to give LA a 7-0 lead.

Ekeler, who led the league in total touchdowns in the regular season, found a seam blocked open by guard Zion Johnson and tight end Tre’ McKitty and then stumbled into the end zone.

The Chargers had Trevor Lawrence in a blender to start the first quarter.

With the Jaguars facing 4th-and-7 from the Chargers’ 33, Doug Pederson elected to bypass the field goal and get aggressive. Asante Samuel Jr. responded, playing physical coverage with Jaguars receiver Zay Jones. Jones failed to get his hands up in time for the impending throw, allowing Samuel to secure his third interception of the season.

Samuel returned the ball to the Chargers’ 39, giving LA’s offense an extra six yards of field position to start their second drive.

Samuel played the first half of his life.

Running downfield with Marvin Jones, Samuel deflected a pass that was initially called as pass interference after Lawrence targeted them downfield. The flag was eventually picked up, as the referees determined that Samuel was playing in phase with Jones.

On the next play, Samuel sat in a flat zone and intercepted a Lawrence pass intended for Evan Engram on a drag route. It was Samuel’s second interception of the first quarter.

Ekeler’s nose for the endzone is second to none.

After Samuel’s second interception of the first quarter, the Chargers’ offense took over from the Jaguars’ 16. Three straight Ekeler rushes later, and LA was in the endzone for the second time tonight to extend their lead to 17-0.

It’s Ekeler’s 20th total touchdown of the season. Both of his scores in this game came from within the red zone.

Early in the Chargers’ fifth offensive drive, Gerald Everett was forced to leave the game with an undisclosed injury after being rolled up by Jaguars linebacker Chad Muma.

An official update was never released, and it didn’t need to be.

The next time the broadcast found Everett on the field, he was finding the endzone, hauling in a nine-yard touchdown from Justin Herbert to extend the lead to 24-0, Chargers.

Everett broke a tackle from Muma, the player who inadvertently caused his injury to begin with, to get across the goal line to give the touchdown an extra hint of revenge.

After dropping a series of interceptions early in the season, Samuel caught fire in the first half, reeling in everything even remotely in his area. With a 3rd-and-10 from midfield, Lawrence forced a throw to tight end Evan Engram, who had Samuel covering him down the seam. Samuel made a better break on the ball and came away with the interception, once again giving the Chargers plus field position.

Forced to punt for the second time, JK Scott lined up and delivered a kick inside the Jaguars’ 15. The ball rebounded off the helmet of Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks, resulting in a scramble for the ball.

Jaguars returner Jamal Agnew looked to have a clear path to a recovery, but Ja’Sir Taylor knocked it out of his hands before he could establish possession and the ball continued to bounce around before being recovered by Chargers linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga.

The recovery gave the Chargers the ball on the Jaguars 5, which LA converted into a second Cameron Dicker field goal to extend their lead to 27-0.

Live tweet updates from Chargers vs. Jaguars

Stay up to date on all the action from the matchup between the Chargers and Jaguars.

The Chargers are set to take on the Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card.

If you’re away from the television or can’t stream the game and want to be kept up to date on all the action, we will have you covered.

Chargers inactives: See who’s in and who’s out for AFC Wild Card vs. Jaguars

The Chargers ruled out seven players ahead of their matchup with the Jaguars.

The Chargers are a little over an hour away from kicking off their AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Jaguars.

Here is a look at their inactive players today:

QB Easton Stick

S JT Woods

RB Isaiah Spiller

TE Stone Smartt

OT Storm Norton

WR Mike Williams

DL Tyeler Davison

Staff predictions for Chargers vs. Jaguars in AFC Wild Card

The Chargers Wire staff has made their predictions on who will come out victorious on Saturday night.

The Los Angeles Chargers kick off their Wild Card playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5:15 p.m. PT.

Who is going to come out victorious?

Here is a look at the predictions from each of our writers at Chargers Wire: