Players back Brandon Staley as Chargers keep rolling
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Standing at his locker after a fourth straight victory, this time a 31-10 rout of the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams,Chargerslinebacker Kyle Van Noy did not mince words in an endorsement of coach Brandon Staley as he doubled down on a strongly worded tweetthat he sent earlier in the week.
"I'm not blind to what the media is and what everybody wants and saw a lot of the people hating on him," Van Noy said Sunday. "I'm the type of person like, where it's all good when things go bad, you can point out the negatives, but you also need to give credit when credit is due, and I felt like he deserved credit and when you lead a team that's injured as bad as we were at one point and we weren't clicking on defense like everybody wanted."
The Bolts have significantly improved on a 5-5 start to sit at 10-6, earning their first playoff berth in four seasons and securing at least the No. 6 seed in the AFC with the possibility to climb into the No. 5 spot.
"We're building a culture here," said Van Noy, who joined the Bolts on a one-year deal in free agency. "It doesn't just happen overnight."
Van Noy expressed a similar sentiment last Monday on Twitter.
The defense ranked among the league's worst through the first 13 weeks, allowing an average of 25.8 points per game, but has since catapulted to the top of the rankings, allowing an average of 11 points per game.
On Sunday, the Chargers held quarterback Baker Mayfield to 11-of-19 passing for 132 yards, sacking him three times.
Chargers QBJustin Herbert, meanwhile, completed 21 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, ending his first-ever two-game streak without a touchdown pass. Running back Austin Ekeler rushed for two touchdowns, including a 72-yard score.
Van Noy, who has had a sack in four straight games for the first time in his career, said Staley's steadiness and ability to keep a "level head" throughout the season has made for a good coach, and the ninth-year pro, who won two Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, wasn't the only player providing a vote of confidence.
"To keep this team together, to keep everyone playing fast at a high level when things weren't great or when things were looking kind of bleak, Coach Staley kept everyone together, kept everyone focused, kept everyone getting better," said defensive lineman Morgan Fox, who has four sacks over the past four games. "That was huge."
"So many people try to doubt Coach Staley and his plan and his way," defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day said. "We lost [several] key players and we somehow were in a winning position, winning record, battling it out every game."
The Chargers have endured numerous injuries to key players.
On offense, Herbert played several weeks with fractured rib cartilage, wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams did not play in a complete game together until Week 14 because of injuries, center Corey Linsley and right tackle Trey Pipkins III missed time and left tackle Rashawn Slater has been on injured reserve after tearing a left biceps tendon in Week 3.
Defensively, outside linebacker Joey Bosa returned Sunday to play in his first game since undergoing groin surgery after Week 3, and safety Derwin James Jr., who has missed three of the past four games because of a hip injury and the concussion protocol, also is expected to return this season. But the Bolts will continue to be without cornerback J.C. Jackson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 7, and four defensive linemen who also are on injured reserve.
The Chargers close out the regular season at Denver next Sunday. A victory over the Broncos coupled with a loss by the Baltimore Ravens in their final two games would give the Bolts the No. 5. seed in the playoffs.
"Happy for [Staley], happy for this team," Joseph-Day said. "But we still got a lot to go."
