Week 16's edition of Thursday Night Football was all but a must-win for the L.A. Chargers. A divisional game, check. Against a playoff team, check. A home tilt, in prime time, check.
All boxes were checked for the Chargers needing to come out and make a statement in this one, but there was a problem.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman continued to hold his unit back in the first half.
To no one's surprise, Roman took almost no time reminding Chargers fans why he's the most hated man within the organization right now. There were countless head-scratching decisions from Roman in the first half alone, and it began on the very first drive.
On a 3rd-and-3, Roman called a pitch that was a full five yards behind the line of scrimmage, to a wide receiver (Derius Davis), which was stuffed for a loss of three. Chalk that drive up as a three-and-out.
Later, on a third-and-inches, Roman did something Chargers fans still don't understand by substituting Jamaree Salyer in at right guard for Trey Pipkins. Salyer was immediately obliterated and gave up the tackle-for-loss which ended that drive.
Roman has stated that he'd like to "establish a rotation" with Pipkins and Salyer, but for what? Who does that with starting offensive linemen, and why? There is, quite frankly, no point in doing so.
More Chargers news:
Going back to third and inches, what stopped Roman from calling a quarterback sneak with Justin Herbert? You've got a 6-foot-6 quarterback, with size, who is accustomed to making sneaks work -- and did just that right before halftime.
But, then again, Roman does what he wants, when he wants.
Greg Roman's most obvious downfall continues to be his blind loyalty
One other thing, why on earth has Roman continued rolling with Gus Edwards over the rookie, Kimani Vidal? It doesn't take a football genius to see who the more explosive player is. Vidal picked up 19 yards on his very first carry of the game.
From there, how many touches did he get the rest of the first half?
One. One more touch. That's it.
Edwards touched the ball a total of nine times for a whopping 21 yards. For those keeping track at home, that's 2.3 yards per touch.
Roman is painfully loyal to Edwards due to their time together in Baltimore, and it couldn't be more obvious. Friendship and loyalty are certainly a thing, but this is the NFL. It's not about doing what feels good. It's about winning football games, period.
And for some reason, Roman has had a very, very difficult time doing what's necessary to win football games. Say what you want about the defense. But, Roman is, has and will continue to be the weak link for this Chargers team until he starts seeing things the way, literally, everybody else is seeing them.