Staley, Telesco, players all to blame

Against the NFL's worst rushing offense, the Chargers nevertheless were bulldozed to the fringes of the AFC playoff picture Sunday.

Texans blockers prevailed often. The Chargers' defense had a bad game all around — ceding ground on blocks, missing tackles, failing in coverage.

Coupled with Houston rookie quarterback Davis Mills outplaying Justin Herbert under former Bolts quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton and the result was a 41-29 road defeat that dropped Team Spanos (8-7) behind the wildcard leaders with two games to go.

This defensive stinker under head coach Brandon Staley was an organizational failure that further explained why the Chargers will go a 12th consecutive season — and ninth under top football operations executives Tom Telesco and John Spanos — without winning the four-team AFC West race.

Because several frontline players were absent from each team, the game was an uncommon test of organizational depth.

The roster constructed by Telesco looked skimpy despite oddsmakers making Houston (4-11) a double-digit underdog.

In comparison to Houston, whose former bosses created a big mess, the Telesco-Spanos tandem had the better chances to build a deeper roster.

The past two drafts, Telesco and Spanos made 14 selections, including two first-rounders who've panned out in Herbert and tackle Rashawn Slater.

The Texans had only 10 picks and not one first-rounder because ownership let coach Bill O'Brien wheel and deal. O'Brien was fired in October 2020.

Further, as non-contenders often do, the Texans weakened their roster during this season.

In October they moved two veterans: running back Mark Ingram and returner Andre Roberts, in return for a draft pick and opportunities for youth, respectively. (The Chargers signed Roberts, who promptly upgraded their dismal return units.)

Sunday marked Staley's 15th game as a head coach.

Defense was his calling card when he got the job. In his one year as an NFL coordinator, the Rams were first in fewest points allowed.

The Bolts D's uneven season under Staley included a few bad games, but never versus an offense as lowly ranked as Houston's, which was 31st in points and last in yards, first downs and rushing yards per