3 shocking LA Chargers snap counts from Week 12 loss to Denver Broncos

2. Jerry Tillery, 55 snaps (89%)

There really is no logical explanation as to why Jerry Tillery is continuing to get a high number of snaps like he is a positive difference-maker on the defensive side of the football, because he is not. The only explanation (and it might just be the actual reason) is because he is a first-round pick and Brandon Staley is getting pressure from management to play him because of that.

However, Telesco seems (at least on the outside) to not be as involved in the actual game-planning aspect of the game, but who knows. Maybe that is why Easton Stick has stuck around on the roster even though he adds absolutely nothing to the team.

Linval Joseph not playing in this game is no excuse, either. Because if Joseph was playing he probably would have just started over Christian Covington and Tillery would have still started and played a high number of snaps. The team seems to have a fascination with Tillery even though he has done nothing to earn it. He is wildly inconsistent in the pass rush and is downright awful in run defense.

What makes it even more shocking is what happened in Week 11. The Chargers interior defensive line had its best game of the season with the likes of Breiden Fehoko and Joe Gaziano leading the way for a depleted group; the same group that showed out in the preseason and all got cut before the season for whatever reason. Gaziano played seven snaps against Denver, Fehoko played 15.

Their snaps were in place of Covington in most cases as Covington played just 24 snaps. The trio combined for 46 snaps, which was nine fewer than Tillery accounted for alone.