The Chargers can’t figure out a way to win close games.
Not being in one is a good first step.
The Chargers picked up a convincing 45-10 win over the Jaguars, eliminating the need for explanations.
The Jaguars (4-9) opened the game with a long field goal drive, but the Chargers wheeled off 31 unanswered points to put the game away early.
Philip Rivers threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns on his 38th birthday, and showed he could still make plays downfield. He completed 16-of-22 passes, and that 14.3 yards per attempt number almost undersold the job they did.
His 84-yard touchdown to Austin Ekeler was the longest of his career, and the 44-yarder to Mike Williams in the third quarter was the sixth straight game in which Williams had a 40-plus-yard catch.
Between that and big day from the backfield, the Chargers made it look easy. Ekeler finished with 112 yards receiving and 101 yards rushing, while Melvin Gordon had 55 rushing yards and a touchdown.
It was such an easy day for Rivers that he got to take the fourth quarter off after putting up a point per year, with Tyrod Taylor finishing things up after Rivers staked them to a 38-10 lead.
They needed the respite, after losing eight games by a combined 39 points this year.
Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew proved that Nick Foles might not have been the problem, as they managed just 252 yards of total offense, and were without wide receiver D.J. Chark with an ankle injury.