Jim Harbaugh can't read the room, offers baffling comments about Chargers defense

The LA Chargers turned in a pitiful defensive performance in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. There's no way around it. But don't tell head coach Jim Harbaugh that.

Harbaugh was asked various questions about his defense's performance in Sunday's 38-21 loss to the Colts. Even though the results weren't great, Harbaugh kept a positive spin and continued to harp on making improvements throughout the season.

If the defense needs to make improvements you would think Harbaugh would admit that Sunday's showing simply wasn't good enough, right? Not quite. When asked what he saw out of his defense, Harbaugh gave an answer that caused quite the stir within the fanbase.

Jim Harbaugh can't read the room after Chargers' frustrating loss to Colts

Look, Harbaugh wasn't going to go out and bash his entire defensive unit and coaching staff. Some emotional fans may have wanted Harbaugh to do that, but it would have done more harm than good for his to take that approach.

That being said, there can still be some level of accountability from the head coach in the postgame presser and that simply wasn't there. While Harbaugh did allude to the coaching needing to be better during the presser, the lax nature of his response about the defense isn't what Chargers fans wanted to hear.

After all, the players were rather blunt after the game about how poorly they played. The same kind of urgency would have been nice to see from Harbaugh.

It doesn't matter how much effort the Chargers put in. The fact of the matter is the Colts just dropped 31 points and did so rather easily. If they cranked the knob to 11 the entire game, the Colts probably could have flirted with 50 points in this game.

This is the third straight week in which the run defense specifically has looked woeful. The Chargers breathed life into a stagnant Miami Dolphins offense in Week 6, giving Devon Achane a great game as a result. The week prior, the Chargers were completely outclassed by the Washington Commanders, allowing Jalen Croskey-Merritt to score twice himself.

Starting running backs have seven combined rushing touchdowns the last three weeks against the Chargers. That simply isn't good enough.

Harbaugh may not want to address the elephant in the room but we will: this defensive performance wasn't just frustrating, it's downright concerning. This is a unit that ranked No. 1 in the league in points allowed last season with a defensive coordinator who was a future head coach in the making.

Now, it's impossible to have any confidence in the Chargers against any semblance of a good offense. That, mixed with an offensive line that continues to get injured at every turn, is a recipe for disaster.

And if Harbaugh isn't addressing this more directly behind closed doors, he's only feeding into the disaster.