The soon-to-be Los Angeles Chargers were long staring at a trap game by journeying on Christmas Eve to a near-empty stadium in Cleveland for a game between two long-ago eliminated football teams. And it proved to be just that.
It will also prove to be the most stinging defeat in what was a coaching tenure unfortunately defined by them.
Few teams do the heartbreaking loss like San Diego. Ownership was already planning a coaching search prior to the Chargers finding a way to lose to the Browns, Cleveland's first win since 2015, and Mike McCoy was already virtually certain to be replaced.
Owner Dean Spanos, highly respected for how he runs his team and how he treats people, wouldn't fire a coach at Christmas, but someone else will be coaching this team as they move to L.A. It will be a coveted job, and it's quite likely ownership is willing to spend bigger than in the past to fill it.
Saturday's loss again featured kicker hijinks -- a bad snap exchange killed them earlier this season, and each week seems to bring a new way to lose -- with Josh Lambo having one game-tying attempt blocked, and then missing again in the dying seconds. It featured another array of players suffering injuries in waves. It featured a brutal Philip Rivers interception, which has become a far-too-common occurrence (he entered play leading the NFL in giveaways, coming in droves in the second half of the season).
McCoy will end up paying the price in San Diego but will be a coveted offensive coordinator again, and I believe he will get another chance to run his own team one day. The Chargers boast some significant individual talent that will attract top candidates.
More notes from NFL Week 16:
Green Bay Packers
There's a lot of hype about the Packers, and I get it, and Aaron Rodgers is the best player in the league right now, but that defense is still a problem. When Sam Bradford slices through you that easily and the Vikings roll up 446 net yards, you're in trouble. Once Green Bay faces some legit, balanced offenses in the playoffs, it could be lights out.
Rodgers is going to have to remain at this level to string wins together next month. The margins are slim.
Houston Texans
No one had a better Saturday afternoon than the Texans, who got to watch the Titans and Colts melt down and everything fall their way in the AFC South. It's a huge set of circumstances allowing the some of the pressure to be taken off young quarterback Tom Savage leading up to his first NFL start. The early games could not have gone any better for them.
Miami Dolphins
Adam Gase has to be a finalist for the Coach of the Year. Period. He has changed a warped culture in Miami and is now winning season-saving games on the road in overtime with a backup quarterback. He is the real deal and was born to coach, and it's between him and Jack Del Rio for that award as far as I am concerned.
One award that's locked up, in my opinion? Cameron Wake is the Comeback Player of the Year. He is still as beastly as any pass rusher in the game, and to play how he has while coming off last year's injury at his age is beyond special.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings, falling from 5-0 to completely out of the playoffs before the season is over, have some probing questions to answer.
Adrian Peterson needs to go. The decision to undergo surgery, then announce he was coming back sooner than expected only be to completely ineffective, and then to not be able to play in a vital game in Green Bay all came back to bite the team. He tends to get preferential treatment and a different set of rules, but his play hasn't warranted that in quite some time. I'd go ahead and cut him and make a clean break rather than go through a lengthy process of trying to negotiate a reworked contract.
Minnesota's defense needs a reboot as well. Few units in the NFL have fallen as far, as fast, with the secondary seemingly lost unless safety Harrison Smith is making big plays, and the group looking little like the one that started the season. There is reason for some concern on that side of the ball, while this team badly needs offensive line help and is still short of offensive weapons.
New England Patriots
Somehow the Patriots are falling under the radar, and I guess we all just expect them to do this stuff at this point. But going back to the Ravens game, New England has had a much more potent defense, which is playing its best ball of the season. The run game is multi-pronged and built to pound teams late in the season, when weather and fatigue are a factor. The Gronk injury seems a little less potent each week as the Patriots continue to flex an ability to beat opponents in many different ways.
This is the best team in football.
New Orleans Saints
A week ago I reported that there was a very real potential for Sean Payton to be traded this offseason. Moreso than ever, in fact, with the Saints being open to it and Payton being open to it, and him thought of very highly by other organizations, and there not a preponderance of other top candidates. The time is right.
I've continued to hear that with regularity, and there are no shortage of motivated parties to make this a reality. Clearing $40 million in Payton's payroll would be very appealing to the Saints, and I continue to hear it would hardly take a bounty of draft picks to pry the coach away. This will only continue to heat up, trust me.
Washington Redskins
Big statement, again, by Kirk Cousins on Saturday. In a must-win game on the road without favorite target tight end Jordan Reed, the guy who really makes that offense go, Washington persevered, winning 41-21 in Chicago. Say what you want that it was only against the Bears, but ask the Titans how easy it was to win in Jacksonville on Saturday with their season on the line. If Washington isn't in the postseason, it'll be because of a suspect defense, not the quarterback.
