Sunday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders has been the talk of the NFL world this weekend before it was even played, with the possibility both teams could make the playoffs with a tie.
That result did not end up happening as the Raiders kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime to end the Chargers’ season. Many have criticized Chargers head coach Brandon Staley for calling a timeout near the end of overtime, where the tie was looking more and more likely.
Former NFL head coach and current ESPN personality Rex Ryan was among Staley’s critics, laying into the Chargers head coach for his management of the game Sunday night.
Rex Ryan went OFF on Chargers head coach Brandon Staley after the team's loss to the Raiders 😳
"We're being robbed as NFL fans that we don't get to see Justin Herbert in the playoffs. … It's hard not to make the playoffs with a franchise QB, but congratulations, you did it." pic.twitter.com/9IQDClo5n3
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 10, 2022
“The Raiders were content. They were gonna take the tie. They were absolutely gonna take the tie. But homeboy’s sitting there (and takes a) timeout. What? You’ve got a way better football team than you got beat by, and you lost. … You were born on third base thinking you hit a triple — that’s this cat right here.” said Ryan on ESPN’s Get Up this morning.
While Ryan has a point, there was no guarantee that the Raiders were going to just let the clock run out. The Raiders were lining up to run a play and Staley simply called a timeout to get the best defense on the field for third down.
Ryan didn’t stop there though, he proceeded to rip into Staley and criticize not only this decision but him as a coach in general.
“This guy coaches like he’s a Division-III coach that nobody cares about. It’s hard not to make the playoffs with a franchise quarterback, but congratulations, you did it,” Ryan said. “How he faces his football team after this one is incredible to me.”
“What makes him brilliant? He was a defensive coach that has a horrendous defense that can’t stop the run when you know they’re gonna run. Does that make you brilliant? No, it makes you a coach that’s supposed to be a defensive guru, but you never really earned your stripes.”
This seems like a bit of an overreaction, to be honest. Staley is in his rookie season as a coach, and this was an unprecedented situation for an NFL coach. I’m not so sure that most NFL coaches wouldn’t have made the same mistake given how strange the implication of this game turned out to be.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.