USA TODAY Sports
The Chargers gave themselves a bit of hope at the end of Sunday’s loss to the Bills when Justin Herbert hooked up with Tyron Johnson for a 55-yard pass to the Buffalo 2-yard-line.
Down 10 with no timeouts, the Chargers needed a quick score and an onside kick to have a chance to tie the game. They rushed to the ball and snapped it with 20 seconds left, but the play choice was bizarre. Herbert handed the ball to Austin Ekeler, who was stopped short of the end zone and the choice essentially left no shot at the two scores they needed.
After the game, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said the call was “completely miscommunication” before facing a series of questions about his overall clock management during the game. Lynn’s answers didn’t offer much reassurance about the decision-making process even as he pushed back at the notion that clock management has been an issue for his staff.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Lynn said. “I would sit down and talk you through every one of our decisions. I’m not saying that it’s been perfect at all. But what happened today at the end of the game that was miscommunication.”
The Chargers are now 3-8 and repeated mistakes in close losses have done little to make the case that Lynn will return for a fifth season in 2021.
