Jim Harbaugh’s news conference after the Chargers’ 40-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday was part postgame recap and part pregame look-ahead. The Chargers didn’t have any time to waste with the Denver Broncos coming to SoFi Stadium on Thursday.
“It’s football,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve seen the good times and today we’re staring at adversity. It’s how we respond. That’s where my mind is on to: Getting ready for this next game.”
Thursday’s AFC West rematch against the Broncos (9-5) is the most important game of the Chargers’ season, safety Derwin James Jr. said.
The Broncos, who lost to the Chargers in Denver earlier in October, jumped into the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture with a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday while the Chargers (8-6) faltered in their worst loss of the season.
Three takeaways from the home loss:
Rest and recovery
The Chargers set up a makeshift treatment room outside the locker room, partitioning off an area with massage tables and stationary bikes. Players sat in their lockers and ran massage guns up and down their legs. A staff member hoped to cut quarterback Justin Herbert’s postgame news conference short to make sure he could get straight to treatment.
The quarterback who was nursing a left ankle sprain has 96 hours to recover for Thursday’s game. Herbert said after the game Sunday his mobility is “obviously not where I’d like it to be” after he sprained his ankle early against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but he was undeterred about Thursday.
“It’s obviously a short week, not a whole lot of time,” Herbert said, “but you do everything you can and sacrifice in the next couple days so that we’re ready to go on Thursday.”
For the first time this year, Herbert finished without a rushing attempt. He passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns with one pass intercepted while getting hit 10 times and sacked three times.
The Chargers also lost cornerback Cam Hart (concussion) after his head slammed to the turf on a pass breakup in the second quarter. The rookie was in concussion protocol one month ago and missed two games, although the latter absence was more because of an ankle injury.
Running game woes continue
The Chargers rushed for just 32 yards on 11 carries, both season-lows, against the Buccaneers in their third consecutive game without J.K. Dobbins.
The team’s leading rusher suffered a knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens and went on injured reserve, and the Chargers have averaged 66.3 yards on the ground in the last four games, three of which were losses.
“We got to hang our hats on our run game, that’s who we have to be as a team,” offensive lineman Rashawn Slater said. “I think any good team does that and we haven’t done it. … We’re all pissed off about it and we just have to be better.”
Read more: Buccaneers slice up Chargers defense in second half as L.A. falls in playoff seedings
The Chargers ran the ball eight times on first down, averaging just 2.6 yards on those carries. Excluding one third-and-26 that was created by a sack and an illegal formation penalty, the Chargers faced an average of 6.6 yards to go on third down compared to the Buccaneers’ average of 5.3 yards to go.
The Chargers were 0 for 6 on third down while Tampa Bay converted nine of 15 tries.
Defense loses its swag
Beginning with a field goal at the end of the first half, the Buccaneers scored 30 unanswered points to turn a 17-10 deficit into a rout midway through the fourth quarter that had Chargers fans streaming toward the exits.
“We didn’t have no energy in the second half,” said cornerback Tarheeb Still, whose second-quarter interception turned into a touchdown catch by Quentin Johnston. “We didn’t really feel the swag.”
The Buccaneers sliced through the Chargers with a balanced attack that ran up 506 total yards. Running back Bucky Irving rushed for 117 yards and receiver Mike Evans had 159 yards receiving. It was the first time this season the Chargers had allowed a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game.
Sunday’s defensive debacle knocked the Chargers from the top of the NFL’s defensive list. They’re now in a three-way tie with Philadelphia and Denver as the best scored-against defenses, allowing 17.6 points per game.
Read more: Chargers appear playoff-bound, but loss to Tampa could mean they’re bound for disaster
The Broncos have won four consecutive games entering Thursday’s prime-time game that could decide the Chargers’ playoff fate.
When asked of his confidence level heading into the pivotal matchup, James smiled.
“120% confidence,” the star safety said. “I can sleep good at night knowing that I have confidence in the men in the locker room and the coaches.”
Staff contributor Anthony DeLeon assisted with this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
