Chargers blow 27-point lead in historic postseason loss to Jaguars ...
Tough is an understatement. Los Angeles' 27-point blown lead was the largest in franchise history. The Chargers became the first team Saturday night to lose a playoff game with a turnover differential of +5 or better. Jacksonville's comeback was the third-largest in NFL postseason history, trailing only Andrew Luck's Colts defeating the Chiefs nine years ago (-28) and Frank Reich's Bills ousting the Oilers 30 years prior (-32).
The magnitude of the Chargers' missed opportunity was not lost on L.A.'s locker room.
"We choked," edge rusher Kyle Van Noy said in the locker room, per The Athletic.
"It's embarrassing," said defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day said, per ESPN. "It feels really bad, and it just sucks."
Added quarterback Justin Herbert, whose first postseason start ended in unforgettable fashion: "Obviously a tough go for us."
Where and how it all went wrong for the Chargers will be parsed throughout the offseason. Los Angeles jumped out to its 27-0 advantage thanks to five Jaguars turnovers, including four Trevor Lawrence interceptions, three of which were corralled by second-year star Asante Samuel Jr.. The Chargers benefited from outstanding field position en route to picking up points on five on their first seven drives; three marches started inside the Jags' red zone, and none began behind L.A.'s 32-yard line.
But the Chargers had only four offensive drives in the second half, their final two ending in a missed field goal from 40 yards out and a three-and-out setting up Jacksonville's revival. The close plays that went L.A.'s way defensively in the first half went Jacksonville's in the second. The Chargers didn't get a single stop on the Jags' four second-half marches and aided Jacksonville's comeback by committing boneheaded penalties at the wrong time.
Joey Bosa's three fouls (two of them unsportsmanlike conduct penalties) were particularly harmful. His offsides flag preceding a sack of Lawrence in the third quarter extended the Jags' first scoring drive of the second half, and his second unsportsmanlike foul on Jacksonville's final TD inspired Doug Pederson to go for two from the 1-yard line, a successful attempt that turned Riley Patterson's last-second field goal on the Jags' ensuing drive into a game-winner.
"I think he was frustrated," Staley said of Bosa. "I think he felt like there were a bunch of things that kind of accumulated throughout the game and tried to talk through it with the officials. But we can't lose our composure like that. We need to make sure that we stay on the high side of things and we can't hurt the team that way."