HOUSTON — For 17 regular-season games, it felt different for the Los Angeles Chargers. All of it. The scheme, the energy, the resilience and joy. And maybe most of all, the backbone.
In a season that was about casting off the boulder of underachieving disappointment that had settled on the shoulders of this franchise, all that was left was to showcase it when it mattered most.
Then came Saturday, when the Houston Texans disassembled the Chargers’ AFC playoff hopes with an enthusiasm unknown to everyone but the team’s fan base. One cratering 32-12 loss later, a season of hopeful progress rolled backward for Los Angeles.