SAN DIEGO — The Chargers are looking to this quick week as an opportunity to bounce back from a last minute 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Qualcomm Stadium, ending the team’s five-game winning streak on Sunday.
On Thursday, they head to the mile high city of Denver to face off against another division rival in the Broncos, who are also coming off a short week in which they trounced the San Francisco 49ers and where Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning broke the record for most touchdown passes thrown.
But on Monday after the Chargers loss, it was all about the tale of the tape for head coach Mike McCoy and players.
“Too many missed tackles,” McCoy said. “And that’s something you work on every week, and it’s a basic fundamental of the game and we gave too many yards where we should have stopped them.”
That was essentially the take away from the loss to the Chiefs. And now the Chargers begin preparations for the Broncos — two teams that know each other well.
Linebacker Jarret Johnson, who spoke to the media on Monday, had fingers on each hand banded up and his right leg wrapped with gauze.
“You can go into any NFL locker room this time of year, everyone is going to be dealing with something,” Johnson said, referring to the bandages.
This quick week, he said, is just one of the adversities of playing in the NFL, in terms of recovering physically.
The 12-year veteran said it takes him usually until the next Sunday morning to have fully recovered.
Injuries have been an ongoing storyline for the Chargers this season. That constant shuffle of injured players has led to an oft-recurring theme of “next man up.”
McCoy didn’t give any updates on the health status of running backs Donald Brown or Ryan Mathews, other than they’re working “extremely hard to get back.”
There was little other information on the status of cornerback Brandon Flowers, who was removed from Sunday’s game after sustaining a concussion.
Flowers didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice. Also not practicing were Brown, Mathews, linebacker Dwight Freeney, center Rich Ohrnberger, and linebacker Manti Te’o.
But when asked what challenges the team will be facing without many of their starters against Manning and the Broncos offense, McCoy said he didn’t think the team was undermanned at all.
“I think that (Defensive Coordinator) John Pagano and his staff will put a great plan together. We have a very talented football team; some good depth on our roster. We’ve got all the confidence in the world with our 53-man roster,” he added.
“Our schemes are in place. It’s not like a week-to-week basis where you just throw everything out the window and start from scratch,” McCoy said. “We’re not doing that.”
Following Denver’s Thursday night game, the Chargers will have some time to recover before heading to Miami for week nine and then reaching their bye week Nov. 9.
