The Los Angeles Chargers did just about the most Los Angeles Chargers thing ever against the Jaguars. In Saturday's matchup, Los Angeles jumped out to a convincing 27-0 lead on the road and up until halftime, the game looked like it was going to end in a Chargers victory. However, the opposite happened as the Jaguars went on to outscore the Chargers 31-3 after being down 27 and win the game on a late field goal.
As the NFL playoffs continue and teams fight for a chance to win a championship, the Chargers will be sitting at home wondering what could have been if they had been able to hold on to their lead. Granted, other than the 49ers and the Bengals, the Jaguars were the hottest team in the league entering the playoffs as they now have not lost a game since November 13th against the Chiefs. Still, a collapse like this in the postseason with a roster this talented is inexcusable. The Chargers most certainly have to look for a new solution at head coach because Brandon Staley has continued to make too many mistakes time and time again. One could argue that having Mike Williams sidelined for Saturday's game because of an injury he sustained playing in a meaningless regular season game is part of the reason the Chargers lost.
It seemed like Staley could not figure out how to maximize the roster around Justin Herbert and close games properly. The hottest commodity right now for vacant head coaching positions is Sean Payton and he would work perfectly for the Chargers. LA needs to hire an offensive coach that will fully maximize the talent of the Chargers and in particular, Justin Herbert. Herbert has had a sensational start to his NFL career and in his third season in the league, he threw for 4,739 yards, 25 touchdown passes, and only 10 interceptions.
With the AFC West being one of the most hyped up divisions in football we have seen in a while, the Chargers did find a way to finally make the playoffs, yet it still feels like they underachieved. They have a great roster, they just need to the right coaching leading them.