The Chargers weren’t kidding themselves Saturday. Even while they were winning four consecutive games, they stressed the idea that there was still a great deal of work to be done before the end of the regular season. They couldn’t rest on their laurels because, well, they didn’t have any.
A mistake-filled 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans proved once again their margin for error is small, especially when it comes to playing against a team that does one or two things reliably well. Here’s what we learned, what we heard, and what comes next after their streak-ending defeat:
WHAT WE LEARNED
The Chargers simply can’t have miscommunications like the ones they had on the Texans’ two long passes for touchdowns in the opening minutes of the game. The fact that they almost came back to win from a 14-0 deficit speaks to the high level of play their defense is capable of.
It also speaks to a lack of focus. As safety Derwin James Jr. explained it after the game, some of the Chargers’ defensive backs believed they were in one type of coverage and others thought they were in another. That it happened once was bad enough, but it happened twice.
On the first touchdown, cornerback Donte Jackson was lined up against Houston wide receiver Jayden Higgins. Believing he had help from a teammate, Jackson stayed with Higgins as best he could, but with no help rotating over, he was soon chasing rather than defending Higgins.
The result was a 75-yard pass play for a touchdown on the game’s third play.
Similarly, the Chargers allowed wide receiver Jaylin Noel to slice through their secondary unmarked en route to a reception and a 43-yard touchdown play that silenced a boisterous home crowd of 73,066 that arrived in full power blue-and-gold regalia ready to cheer for their team.
It was a bummer of an afternoon.
There was more, too.
Cameron Dicker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history with a success rate of more than 94% during his stellar career, missed a 32-yard field goal wide right in the closing seconds of the first half and an extra point wide left in the fourth quarter. The Chargers lost 20-16, so you do the math.
Punter JK Scott shanked a punt 22 yards, sending it out of bounds and into the Texans’ bench, setting up Houston for a short drive and a field goal that extended the lead to 17-3 in the third quarter. Scott’s 34-yard punt in the fourth quarter set up another Texans field goal and a 20-10 lead.
Sure, it was out of character, but it underscored the need for a clean operation. The Chargers made mistakes, glaring ones, and the Texans took advantage. The Chargers lost a chance to play in Week 18 for their first AFC West title since 2009 and the Texans capitalized to clinch a playoff berth.
WHAT WE HEARD
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s postgame answers were short and to the point, as is often the case after a Chargers loss. He praised their ability to “fight” and to “battle” after falling behind by two touchdowns only 5:43 into the game. He also stated the obvious about bouncing back next weekend.
“We’ll learn from it,” Harbaugh said when asked what, if anything, the Chargers might learn from facing the Texans, who have one of the NFL’s top defenses, especially their defensive line. “Some of the things that happened today we’ll clean up and use those to be better tomorrow.”
Linebacker Daiyan Henley insisted it wasn’t so much what the Texans’ offense did in order to win the game as it was what the Chargers’ defense did to lose it. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling. He believed it was evident in how the Chargers got their act together in the final three quarters.
“It came down to us,” Henley said. “It comes down to us and what we do, not what they do. For us, as a defense, for our coaches, we gathered ourselves, gathered our thoughts, gathered our bodies and we didn’t let it take over the rest of the game. We just wanted to make sure we gave ourselves, our team, an opportunity to make plays, and I feel like we did that.”
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Chargers (11-5) play the AFC West champion Denver Broncos (13-3) in their regular-season finale. The Chargers could finish anywhere from fifth to seventh in the AFC playoff seedings. A second victory this season over the Broncos would give them a shot at fifth, but they would need some help.
After their loss Saturday, the Chargers dropped from fifth to seventh.