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It has developed into the defining characteristic of the Mike McCoy era for the San Diego Chargers -- losing close games in the fourth quarter.
After another lead evaporated in the final moments of a 26-22 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Chargers are now 3-11 dating to last season in games decided by eight points or fewer.
Asked about the late-game malaise of his team, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers offered a simple solution to the team’s struggles late: just win a game in those situations.
Philip Rivers thinks if the Chargers can find a way to win one close game, more will follow. Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports
“We haven’t won one like this,” Rivers said. “There’s not one that jumps out at me. So we have to win one like this, and then it will become where we expect to. And I don’t think that we don’t expect to now, when you do it and see how you do it ...”
Then Rivers talked about how the offense had a chance to put away the game, up 22-20 with a little over six minutes left in regulation.
San Diego’s offense started with the ball on the team’s own 18-yard line and drove to about midfield. The Chargers had to convert a third-and-2 from their own 47-yard line, and Rivers had a chance to connect with Travis Benjamin over the middle, but the ball fell incomplete.
The Chargers had to punt, and Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck found T.Y. Hilton six plays later for a 63-yard pitch-and-catch for the winning score.
“That to me is when you don’t even let the defense back out there,” Rivers said. “We just finish it -- we end up taking a knee and the stadium empties out. We had a chance to do that, and we didn’t. ... Of all the plays I missed today, I wish I would have hit Travis on that third-and-2.”
That’s the problem with the Chargers -- most times, those plays have gone the other team’s way.
Those plays lead to 4-12 seasons.
McCoy and the Chargers have to figure out how to make those plays go their way, or they are headed down a similar path.
“There were a number of opportunities that we had a chance to make plays,” McCoy said. “And we’ve got to make those plays. ... It’s never just one play. It’s never just one series. As we all know in this game, in the NFL more often than not, it comes down to making those plays at the end of the game.”
Perhaps the Chargers have to rely more on the power of positive thought, as veteran tight end Antonio Gates believes. Ever the optimist, Gates says he always believes good things are around the corner.
And instead of dwelling on negative plays, Gates is quick to point out what his team did right, like the way rookie Hunter Henry got open at the end of the game, and not the final result of the play, a forced fumble that essentially ended the game in another loss for his team.
“Positive reinforcement is always my route,” Gates said. “You allow them to see the mistakes that they’ve made, and you correct them. But like I told Hunter, the route was great. So you can build on something else.”
Maybe McCoy, Rivers and Gates all need a session with a sports psychologist courtesy of Chargers chairman Dean Spanos, someone who can help lead them in the right direction, providing a solution to the team’s late-game woes.
Whatever the tonic, the Chargers have to figure out what ails them -- and soon.
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