Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley garnered plenty of outside criticism after the Week 18 road game against the Denver Broncos. Even as the Chargers had already clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC, they opted to keep their regular starters on the field past the first quarter of the divisional matchup.
In the end, the Chargers came away from the game with multiple injury concerns. Among them, wide receiver Mike Williams suffered a back injury after hauling in a reception on a first down play during the late stages of the second quarter. He was slow to get up following the play, and he was later carted to the locker room.
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the call to keep the Chargers' starters on offense in the game past the opening quarter was an “organizational decision.” Rapoport added that “many” members of the organization knew what the plan was going to be for the contest, and “everybody was on board with this plan.”
Overall, the Chargers’ decision to not roll with their backups against Denver centered on “winning, staying sharp, and about culture.”
Staley noted a day after the loss to the Broncos that Williams' “MRI confirmed that there is not a fracture nor a muscle injury, he just has a contusion.” However, the sixth-year wideout reportedly underwent another MRI after he was “not progressing as expected,” which revealed a fracture in his back.
Williams was sidelined from each of the Chargers' three practices this past week, which played into their decision to rule him out from their upcoming AFC wild-card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, Rapoport did note that if the Chargers go on to defeat the Jaguars and thus advance to the AFC divisional round, Williams will then have an “outside shot at playing next week.”
In the big picture, the Chargers are looking to pick up a playoff win for the first time since the 2018 season. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will have to call on the likes of Joshua Palmer and DeAndre Carter to step up in Williams’ absence against the reigning AFC South champions.
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