Chargers decision to play starters versus Broncos proves costly

Mike Williams (YouTube)

On Sunday, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley of Perry, Ohio made the controversial decision to dress his starters for their game against the Denver Broncos to close out the 2022 National Football League regular season. The decision proved extremely costly as it was reported by Lindsey Thiry of ESPN on Friday that Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams of Vance, South Carolina suffered an injury against the Broncos and would be out two to three weeks with a small fracture in his back.

The only thing that was up for grabs in week 18 for the Chargers was who would get the number five seed. The Chargers entered the week as the fifth seed, and would remain fifth with a win over the Denver Broncos or a Baltimore loss to Cincinnati. The Ravens lost to the Bengals 27-16 and ended up the sixth seed. The Chargers were actually upset 31-28 by the Broncos, as Denver quarterback Russell Wilson waited until the final week of the season in a completely meaningless game to play his best game of 2022.

At the end of the day, there is not much of a difference finishing fifth or sixth. Both teams are playoff bound, and Staley would have been better off resting his stars for Saturday’s game against Jacksonville.

In Sunday’s game, Williams had four catches for 32 yards until he left the game with the injury. In 2022, he had 63 catches for 895 yards and four touchdowns. Williams missed two games each earlier this season with a leg injury, and then two more games later in the season with an ankle injury.

If you were coaching the Chargers, would you have started your stars on Sunday?

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