Chargers’ loss to Jags ‘tough’ to swallow 

(News4usonline) – There is no sugar coating the 31-30 defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars handed the Los Angeles Chargers during Wild Card Weekend. The Chargers blew the game. It’s that simple. Some things are just what they are. 

“It’s tough, man,” said Chargers defensive back Alohi Gilman said as players were cleaning out their lockers at the team’s practice facilities and headed into the offseason. “I think just the guys in this locker room, the guys in here, put so much work in from OTAs to now. For us to go out like that is disappointing and frustrating for all of us. Not for us individually, but for us as a team, the guys that we play for. That’s what makes it hard.”

This is one of those times when things are not that complicated to figure out. Offense. Defense. Special teams. This was a complete team loss for the Chargers. The defeat felt by the Chargers will sting for a while and is as clear as it is in black and white. 

There is no way to dress down the cold hard fact that the Chargers were up 27-0 at one point in the first half of this ballgame and then walked into the locker room at halftime carrying a 27-7 lead. 

It’s hard to overlook that in the second half, the Chargers were outscored 24-3 and did not score a single point in the fourth quarter. The Chargers won the turnover battle (5-1), had the ball longer than Jacksonville (32:39 to 27:21), and still lost the ballgame. 

Chargers safety Ja’Sir Taylor said the loss to Jacksonville almost feels like an out-of-body experience.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Taylor said the day after the Chargers faltered against the Jaguars. “I’m like the Matrix where I feel like it’s not real. We had the highest of the highs yesterday and ended with the lowest of lows. Now the season is over. I’m still wrapping my head around it.” 

Like any sporting contest, there are other factors that go into a team winning and a club losing. For the Chargers, one of the factors that played into their shrinking lead was not extending drives more, especially in the third and fourth quarters. That lead then disappeared on the last play of the game.  

“This is the NFL,” remarked Taylor. “We’ve been saying it all year a game is never over until it’s over. Those guys on the other side have pride, too. Nobody in the NFL is just going to lie down for nobody no matter the score. That’s also the beauty of the game. You compete until the final whistle.”    

Those four interceptions (three interceptions by cornerback Asante Samuel) the Chargers managed to get off Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence came early in the game and put Los Angeles in a place to score quickly, a good ingredient to have if you are a road team. The Chargers picked off Lawrence on three of Jacksonville’s first four possessions, leading to 17 first quarter points. 

Those scoring drives for the Chargers covered 18, 57, and 16 yards. So, the Chargers didn’t have to work too hard to move the football. That became more of a challenge as the game played on and when it mattered. The lack of a solid rushing attack contributed mightily in this area of disaster for the Chargers. 

The Chargers rushed the ball for a grand total of 67 yards. Their leading rusher, Austin Ekeler, did virtually nothing on the ground, gaining just 35 yards for an evening’s worth of work. That kind of production probably wouldn’t help anyone win a Pop Warner championship football game. 

While we’re still on the offensive side of the ball, let’s go to the top. Quarterback Justin Herbert has had a magnificent first three seasons in the NFL. He’s passed for 4,000 or more yards every year since he’s been in the league. Herbert is without question the team’s franchise quarterback and one of the premier passers in the NFL.  

However, for all the yards he’s thrown for and for all the records he has attained or broken, Herbert has yet to net a playoff win. Playing Jacksonville was Herbert’s first NFL playoff game. Herbert’s postseason debut was widely hailed for what seemed to be some sort of coming-of-age party. 

But when it was all said and done, Herbert was unable to pull the Chargers through on this one. So, just how much of the loss to Jacksonville lay at the feet of Herbert? After all, the second-best passer in the NFL during the regular season in 2022 did have a 27-point lead to protect. 

Then again, that Jacksonville pass rush was no joke. The Jaguars registered 10 quarterback hits on Herbert during the game and produced three sacks. 

This explains the 25 of 43 uneven passing outing Herbert had against Jacksonville. He had no time to really set his feet and throw the football the way he wanted to. Well, welcome to the playoffs. 

During his postgame comments after the game, Herbert firmly put the leadership mantle on his back and said that the improbable loss to Jacksonville would be motivation for the team next season.   

“Yeah, it’s really tough because we think really highly of our team and that’s a special group of guys in that locker room,” Herbert said. “They deserve better and it didn’t go our way and that’s the unfortunate part. Guys put everything they had into it this year, especially this game, and you hate to see it go that way. But I know that everyone in that locker room who comes back is going to use this one for fuel for the next year, and they’re excited to get back to work. Definitely tough to process, but got to keep it going and use this one as fuel.”   

While the new season is a way off, the reality of the moment hit veteran offensive tackle Trey Pippins III hard.  

“It’s tough to go out like this,” Pippins said. “It’s hard. It’s hard to put into words, honestly. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything like it, to be honest with you.” 

The Chargers’ shortcoming against Jacksonville isn’t all on the offense. After looking like world beaters in the first half, the team’s usually reliable and rugged defensive unit looked vulnerable to everything Lawrence and the Jaguars did. Lawrence pulled it together after his mistake-filled first half to finish the game with four touchdowns. 

The Chargers didn’t answer the bell in the second half defensively. As a result, the Chargers made history, but not in a way that it would reflect favorably on them. 

“That’s probably the worst loss I’ve been a part of,” Gilman said. “I’ve had losses where I’ve lost badly by a bunch of points, but that’s probably the worst that I’ve been a part of.”