COSTA MESA — The locker room was as subdued as it’s been all season. The big-screen television was off for one of the few times during the open period when reporters are granted access. The music that frequently thumps through speakers around the room was silenced. Conversations were muted.Maybe it was too early in the morning.
The Chargers won four in a row before losing a meaningless regular-season finale to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with a Week 16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts and then secured the fifth seed in Week 18 when the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens before their own game kicked off.“It is another game, but it’s not another game,” center Corey Linsley said.
It’s Linsley’s depth of experience, in particular, that the Chargers will lean on Saturday. Many of the Chargers, including quarterback Justin Herbert, will be making their playoff debuts Saturday. Many, like Herbert and left tackle Jamaree Salyer, have played in big games, but those were in college.