Chargers have nowhere to hide after firings

Brandon Staley is no longer the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. A day after the Chargers surrendered 63 points to the Las Vegas Raiders, Staley and general manager Tom Telesco received their walking papers. And well they should.

The Raiders got their Christmas wish. The Chargers did not. The Thursday Night Football game between the two AFC West Division rivals was over by halftime with the Raiders hanging six scores on the Chargers on their way to dropping 63 points on the Bolts. 

The loss of quarterback Justin Herbert, who is on injured reserve, was going to play out no matter what. But no one could see the Raiders embarrassing the Chargers the way that they did. The Chargers were humiliated by the Raiders, losing 63-21, in a primetime slot and with millions of people watching this game. It was simply a bad look for the Chargers. 

“We just didn’t a good game tonight. We didn’t have it, from the beginning to the end,” Staley said immediately after the game. “It’s one of those games where nothing went right for us.”

The Chargers are out of the playoff run. That door has closed. What’s left for the Chargers and Staley is finishing the season with respectability. That may have gone out the window with the thrashing the Chargers took from the Raiders. After losing their ninth game of the season, what’s next for Staley or the Chargers is up for debate. 

The pressure for change, however, is written all over the place. Staley feels it. The day after the Chargers’ 23-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, was asked about feeling added pressure at this point in the season.  

“I feel the same every time I’ve ever coached a game in the NFL. I feel that this is the biggest game of my life, which is how I’ve approached every game I’ve competed in my whole life. That’s the approach that I’ve brought my whole life. That’s the approach I’ve brought here. I expect for us to come and compete at a high level this week.”   

With the team playing listless against the Denver Broncos in a 24-7 defeat at home, Staley answered a question about his job security. 

“I’m just focused on getting ready for Las Vegas,” Staley remarked. “I have a team that’s hurting in there. We have to rally, we have to make sure that we get a good two days of practice before we travel and get ready to play a division game. I’m focused on doing my job well and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

The Chargers played disastrously against the Raiders without Herbert. Leading up to the Raiders game, Staley went on record to say that the matchup would be a test for his ballclub.  

“This group has really good makeup,” Staley said. “I think you’ve seen that through 13 games. I expect that to continue and I think that any time you’re faced with an obstacle like this, and this is as big of an obstacle as you can face when you lose your starting quarterback, you’re going to find out about the locker room and your team. I know what’s in our locker room. We have four really tough opponents in front of us. This one division game on the road on a short week, it’s going to test us. I know what our guys are made of.”  

As a result of their primetime football spanking, the Chargers can officially kiss their postseason hopes goodbye. A lot of people predicted to be Super Bowl contenders have turned out to be a squad that has played under expectations. It all started with the team blowing a 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a playoff game last season. 

The Jaguars came back and defeated the Chargers, 31-30. The Chargers have not been right since. A team and a season with promise now seems to be unraveling at the same time. The Chargers have played like a team that has regressed from the playoff-bound squad of a year ago. 

Last year, the Chargers went 10-7 and made the postseason. This season, the Chargers have played like what their record indicates, a rudderless ship not knowing which way to go.