If they were feeling down and out, it was difficult to know as the Chargers prepared to play against the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium. If they were caught in a doom loop after consecutive defeats the past two weeks, it was hard to tell by their words and actions.
No, in fact, the Chargers were as upbeat as they have been all season. Their energy was high. Their practices went well. Their optimism was difficult to miss. Their confidence hadn’t taken a hit in the least, they said, despite losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
If it was all an act, then it was a very good one.
“I think if you have 22 guys out there pointing at themselves and thinking, ‘What can I do to get better?’ then that’s just going to make the team a lot better,” Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa said. “You don’t need to be worrying about, ‘Hey, what’s the receivers, what do they need to do better?’ No, you need to figure out how you can rush the passer better, how you can play the run better, and I think if everyone does that, individually, it’ll have great results.”
Great results have been difficult to come by, at least collectively, as the Chargers have slumped to a 2-4 record going into Sunday night’s game against the Bears (2-5). Their offense has been electric at times. Their defense has been suffocating at times. Their special teams have been reliable at times.
The trouble for the Chargers is that it seems like they’re playing a Whac-A-Mole game. The three phases of the game haven’t clicked together at the same time in the same quarter in the same half in the same game this season. It seems like when their offense is strong, their defense falters and vice versa.
Their special teams play has been solid, but it can improve, too.
Against the Chiefs, the Chargers’ offense erupted for a 14-point second quarter only to have their defense give up 21. In the third and fourth quarters, their defense came alive and gave up only seven points. Their offense, however, was missing in action and was shut out in the second half.
It was the second time in three games the Chargers were blanked in the second half, following a shutout during a victory Oct. 1 over the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I want to see some complementary football,” Bosa said. “I can’t really control that myself, but I’d like to see the defense make a stop and then the offense go and put it in (the end zone). I think that’s what we’re missing a little bit, to be able to feed off each other. There’s great individual performances here and there, but I think every one of us needs to complement each other out there.”
Frustrating? You could say so.
“You have to look at it and take what you can from it, learn what you can from it,” Bosa said. “If there’s a reason why it may be happening. Coach (Brandon) Staley’s message this week has been focusing on not pointing fingers, but looking at what’s the problem. It’s looking at yourself and figuring out what you can do better.”
The Chargers haven’t lost faith in themselves or their coaching staff, according to Bosa. He said he’s even feeling more optimistic about his own recovery from a broken left big toe that limited him to roughly half of the snaps in each of the past three games, or since he was hurt Sept. 24 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Bosa also said he looked forward to the challenge of facing the Bears. There was no sense sulking or feeling sorry for themselves. No one was throwing a pity party around the Costa Mesa practice facility.
“I thought this week was really exciting, just the energy,” he said. “After two losses like that (against the Cowboys and the Chiefs), sometimes you could come in on Monday or Wednesday and it could be doom and gloom and nobody wants to be at work or whatever, but I felt like the energy was really good. I think everybody wants to turn this around. I think everybody knows we have an opportunity. We have a great team, great players here. But, yeah, we have a bunch of competitors here. I don’t think it matters what the record is, they’re going to come in and work every day and try to make the best of it.
“So, I was happy with how the morale was this week, for sure.”
CHARGERS (2-4) vs. BEARS (2-5)
When: 5:20 p.m. Sunday
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: Ch. 4; 98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)