The Los Angeles Chargers appeared to be in cruise control against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half of their Wild Card matchup on Saturday night, but ended up collapsing in the second half, losing by a final score of 31-30. There were several reasons for the Chargers shocking defeat here, but after the game, Brandon Staley made it clear that Joey Bosa's killer penalty late in the fourth quarter simply cannot happen.
Bosa picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the Jaguars closed the gap to 30-26 late in the fourth quarter for taking his helmet off while on the field and slamming it on the ground. This allowed Jacksonville to move the ball to the one-yard line and attempt a two-point conversion, which Trevor Lawrence subsequently converted on a quarterback sneak. After the game, Staley said Bosa's consequential penalty simply cannot happen.
“I think he was frustrated. 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.” – Brandon Staley, Chargers Wire
This penalty ended up being quite a big deal, as it allowed the Jaguars to win the game on their next drive with just a field goal. Had they not tried a two-point conversion, and kicked the extra point, the Chargers would have had a shot to win the game, rather than losing, after Jacksonville's field goal. Even if they still went for the two-point conversion, it's a lot harder to convert at the two-yard line rather than the one-yard line.
Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done about it now, and Bosa's tough penalty will go down as just one piece in the Chargers historic collapse. If the Chargers want to win a playoff game next season, they will have to work on fixing mistakes like this, but the good news is they will have a whole offseason to work on that now.
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