In a bizarre series of postgame comments, Chargers tight end Randy McMichael attacked the Jets and put all blame for the San Diego loss on his teammates. McMichael went after the Jets’ secondary, which was largely successful in shutting down the Chargers’ offense in the second half. There wasn’t much wiggle room in his remarks, which discredited the Jets’ efforts in their comeback victory.
“Their secondary isn’t anything,” McMichael said. “It’s our fault. It had nothing to do with anyone on their team. The guys in this locker room, we lost the game.”
McMichael was a bright spot for the Chargers — with three catches for 45 yards — his second-highest receiving total of the season. But rather than graciously accept defeat, McMichael instead minimized a strong second-half performance from the Jets and talked down about his own team. The Chargers were up 21-10 at halftime, but their vaunted passing attack was limited in the second half.
Quarterback Philip Rivers had just one completion in seven attempts in the third quarter and he threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter.
“We had them down and we took our foot off the gas. I’m not giving credit to anybody. This is our fault,” McMichael said. “Nothing to do with the play calling. We took our foot off the gas pedal and we lost because of it.”
Another big part of the Chargers loss was undisciplined play, to the tune of 13 penalties for 95 yards. True to his prior statements, McMichael pinned those flags on his team walking out of MetLife Stadium on the wrong side of the score line.
“It’s our fault. You can ask any question you want to ask. The San Diego Chargers beat the San Diego Chargers. Nothing to do with the New York Jets. It’s embarrassing, but it is what it is. We have more games to play,” McMichael said. “They won, I’m not giving anyone credit. I’m taking the credit away from us.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
