Didn't that just feel so very San Diego Chargers-esque? The fans head into the game feeling like "Even if they lose, we knew it was coming." Then they show just enough for us to get excited and think "Wow, this team could maybe beat the Bears!" before playing the worst 4th quarter of football I think I've ever seen to remind us that, yes, this team is talented and, no, that doesn't mean they're good.
Ryan Mathews had 2 good carries in this game (and 11 bad ones) and topped the second one off with a fumble at the end. Philip Rivers had 3 good quarters of football and then threw 2 interceptions in the last quarter. The vaunted Chargers offense had ZERO YARDS in the 4th quarter. These are the plays the Chargers offense had in the 4th quarter:
- Nick Novak 48 yard field goal
- Incomplete pass
- Incomplete pass
- Interception in the end zone (Major Wright)
- Interception (Corey Graham)
That's it. 5 offensive plays, two of which were just dumb interceptions that didn't need to be thrown. If you haven't faced the reality by now, you should. This is a bad football team. They lead the league in turnovers for a reason. They are very, very poorly coached and are playing with slightly less motivation and heart each week (which is understandable). They're finished.
Oh, and it's not as if the defense was any better. They, at one point, gave up touchdowns on 4 consecutive Bears possessions. They sacked Jay Cutler zero times. The only thing they did well was stop Matt Forte, which was obviously step 1 in their gameplan, but that's not enough if the rest of the team is left open.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Chargers lose-out at this point and, honestly, I'm almost rooting for it to happen. The Chargers need to get a top 5 pick and turn it into 3-4 picks in the first 2 rounds for their new coaching staff to build the team in whatever fashion they want. It's time to stop talking about games and start talking about coaches, draft picks and the offseason.