Chargers - 34, Texans - 24
Q. Your overall thoughts on this one, getting a win here, getting back to 2-2.
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah. I really felt like we had to fight hard to get it in the fourth quarter. I loved the way we started this football game. At halftime, outside of a drive, I really loved the way we played in all three phases of the game.
In that third quarter, it got tight. Didn't play well enough in the third quarter.
But then in the fourth quarter, I thought the way we finished that game, you can't ask for anything more as the head coach, you know, respond after the turnover on the kickoff, and then force a field goal on defense.
On offense, you go on a big drive, convert two third downs, a fourth down, and you're able to close it out on defense and with a takeaway. I thought our guys showed a lot of fight today and I'm really proud of them.
Q. What did you feel like happened there in the third quarter when they were able to get back into it, aside from the special teams fumble?
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah. I thought that a couple third downs there offensively we had a drop, and we moved it a couple, two out of those three drives, but just weren't able to convert a couple of those third downs.
And then on defense, just gave up a couple big plays in the passing game. Just kind of got, I think we got off schedule a little bit, got out of rhythm, and had a few communications issues.
But in the fourth quarter, I felt like we tightened up. It felt like we got back into rhythm and then finished the game playing our best.
Q. The deep shot on the play before the touchdown, was there supposed to be help over the top there? What happened there?
BRANDON STALEY: (Inaudible.
Q. Josh Palmer was sort of in and out. Was he dealing with something?
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah. He was dealing with a foot. Got it taped, came back in. He's okay. Just got it taped up.
Q. How did that happen in the game?
BRANDON STALEY: It did.
Q. We saw Sebastian, at the end there, something happened?
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah. It's his thumb, just kind of banged himself, finger. He's okay.
Q. How did you feel about the run game today? Obviously something you guys been struggling with a little bit.
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah. At the end, I thought, I loved our commitment to it. I thought that that allowed our line to really get into rhythm, which I think helped our passing game.
We didn't get any big splitters today, but I thought we had a lot of productive runs, kind of stayed out of the negative runs, and it felt like we ran the ball really well when we needed to.
On that last drive, I thought we had a couple of really productive runs. We had a second-and-10 run that really gave us a chance on that third down and two that Mike caught the slant on. I thought that was a big run on that drive.
It was just a rugged football game, but I liked the way our offensive line was coming off the football. We drew a couple holding penalties too on their defensive line, so you've got to factor that in as well.
Q. To get Austin rolling the way you guys did, particularly in the red zone, getting in the end zone for the first time this season, how encouraging is that?
BRANDON STALEY: You make a great point. In the last season he had 20 touchdowns and he's the top red-area producer in the NFL. So to get him going today was big. I felt like he played like a captain today. Beyond his performance on the field, I felt like he really led our football team on offense, just played with the energy that he's known for and just a complete performance by him.
Q. In terms of the running back rotation, you're going mostly with Austin and Josh in the first half, Sony got most of his carries in the second half. Why did you guys go away from Josh there and maybe lean towards Sony there in the second half?
BRANDON STALEY: Just a couple of those personnel grouping-oriented running schemes. Nothing more than that.
I really felt like all three guys did a nice job. Sony had a really nice third and two run where there was nothing there and he was able to get vertical and he kind of shows his value. He's got that feel in short yardage.
And I think all three of 'em are doing well for us and, like you said, Josh had a good performance today too. So we're going to try and keep all those three guys rolling and really try to put the pressure on the defense to defend all three.
Q. With Jamaree at left tackle, it looked like he played a pretty good game out there. What did you see from him?
BRANDON STALEY: You're eyes are telling you the right thing. He didn't give up a sack today. It just felt like anytime you can have 4-14 on the road and deal with the crowd noise and, you know, like I said, he's a stud, calm, poised, strong. His teammates did a great job for him too.
I'm really proud of him. He can build off it. He's really hard on himself. He's going to look at the tape and realize he can play better, but now that's been out there, you know, Jerry Hughes is a really quality rusher. I've got a lot of respect for him. He's an outstanding player. To be able to go out there and hold his own, good start for him.
Q. We all know how much Rashawn means to you guys and what type of player he is. To have Jamaree go in there and play the way that he did, what does that mean for you over the rest of the season?
BRANDON STALEY: Number one, it says everything about Rashawn, that he was here today. Tough news for him, but then he's here helping his teammates out. You can't minimize that from an intangible standpoint, you know, one of your best players being there for his teammates.
So just love the fact that we drafted Rashawn Slater and he's on our football team.
But I think it says a lot about our coaching staff, you know, Brendan Nugent, Joe Lombardi, Shaun Sarrett, putting a plan together that Jamaree can go digest and go play.
And then his teammates, Corey Linsley, Mat Feiler making sure that he's ready to play, helping him throughout that football game. Justin Herbert.
But he played how we expected him to and, like I said, he's got one game now that he can look at and now he's got the rest of the NFL to deal with. So this is just one game and he's got to keep getting better.
Q. Justin didn't take many hits today. What did you do different to make sure that didn't happen?
BRANDON STALEY: Good question. I think commitment to the run game. I think we were really committed to coming off the football and that helps you.
I thought that the fact that we were able to get 27 runs off today, I think that really helps your passing attack.
And then I felt like different types of passes, keepers, RPOs, quick gain, we were really good in play action today, which was very well-protected.
And then I thought in the drop back game, I thought our protection really held up. Justin played with really good timing within the pocket, and then when it got tight, he was able to find an outlet or throw it away. I just felt like we really managed the game from a balance standpoint.
Q. You mentioned 4-14 on the road. You have to have chunk plays to get there. You had 10 explosive plays, run and pass. I think you had 11 coming into the game. How big was that to get those chunk plays moving?
BRANDON STALEY: Great observation. You got to have them in the NFL. That's where it's at. I felt like we were able to really access Mike in the deep part of the field today, Gerald in the seams. We were able to hit Bandy, Palmer. We had a couple keepers that went a long ways.
That's what you got to be able to do to throw for 340 on the road. So it was a team effort and a very good performance for our guys.
Q. 17-game season. Almost a quarter of the way through now. How would you assess just where your team's at overall?
BRANDON STALEY: I think for like a game and three quarters we were playing really at a high level. Really high level. And then in the very end of that second game to the beginning of this game it was not our best stuff. Then today was more of a gritty, tough win for a football team. But a really good response to a really tough loss last week. We had some pieces as you know that were different this week. We had to make some adjustments. And I think that that's what the beginning part of the NFL is. I think the fact that we're 2-2, certainly not satisfied with that record, but definitely proud of our response today as a team. Now we got to keep improving.
Q. What did you think of Michael Bandy's couple catches?
BRANDON STALEY: Yeah, Mike has been ready. He's stayed ready. Very confident there in the two-minute drill at the end of the half. Able to locate him. He does what he always does. He's assignment-sound. He's a reliable target. He's got really good feel. Again, you got to show the depth of your team when some guys go out and I thought that him and Jason Moore stepped up and did a really good job for us today.
Q. The fourth down rollout by Justin there, how tempting was it to just call for a sneak. You only needed like maybe six, ten inches?
BRANDON STALEY: We didn't see it that way. We thought it was a lot longer. One yard. That's why I took the timeout. It was more than one. So we kind of wanted to make sure that we had the right play called there. But we wanted to be aggressive in that area. We wanted to try and win this game. We felt like we had the play to do it and Justin and Austin executed it very well.
Q. Was the fourth and one and the touchdown the same play? It looked similar.
BRANDON STALEY: Similar. Similar play call. Yeah. Organized differently. Yeah.
Q. Any injuries?
BRANDON STALEY: Josh Palmer came back in the game. He had his foot wrapped. Sebastian was fine at the end. He just kind of had a owie there. In the finger. He's good. Good spirits.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports