INGLEWOOD — Charlie Kolar said he didn’t know what to say after the Chargers’ eighth consecutive loss to start the season, a 44-22 defeat to the Houston Texans. But then he talked and talked and talked some more, the words and the pain of a lost season pouring out of him in the locker room Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
“It hurts the soul,” he said.
Kolar, a veteran tight end in his first season with the Chargers, had never lost more than four consecutive games while with the Baltimore Ravens, and that was with standout quarterback Lamar Jackson sidelined by an injury. This is different, this wasn’t expected, this wasn’t supposed to happen.
“It’s almost like, if you just give up, it’s easier to swallow a loss,” he said.
Kolar bore the scars of a well-fought game. His right elbow was bloodied and his hair was matted.
“We just can’t win,” he said, sounding exasperated. “We can’t score enough points. Obviously, the defense didn’t play amazing today, but they’ve been playing awesome this year and mostly it’s been the offense, myself and the offense. I take a lot of pride in my craft and to be a part of an offense that’s struggling so mightily …”
It was at that point that someone dropped a fact on Kolar that landed with a thud.
Kolar had no idea the Chargers went 37 consecutive possessions without a touchdown before quarterback Justin Herbert threw a 58-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 38-15 in a game that had been long since decided.
“Thirty-seven?” Kolar said. “Thirty-seven?”
His eyes widened.
“I wish you wouldn’t have told me that,” he said. “Thirty-seven? Honestly?”
It was true. Their streak without a touchdown was nearly a month long, dating to the fourth quarter of their 23-17 loss Oct. 11 to the Denver Broncos. Running back Kimani Vidal’s 42-yard scoring run in the third quarter was their last touchdown.
“It’s so hard to be emotionally present,” Kolar continued. “I didn’t even know that we hadn’t scored (a touchdown) that long. It’s a results-driven league. Nobody cares if you’re working hard and you’re 0-8. It’s incredibly frustrating. It’s been the most frustrating year of my career, for sure.
“I’ve never been here before. It’s incredibly frustrating. You’ve got to do everything in our power to stay where your feet are and just get better because the fact of the matter is we’re not playing well right now. We haven’t been playing well, and we’re not playing well. How do we get better?
“Everyone has to be intensely, intensely focused on themselves to get better.”
CHANGE IN VENUE
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel moved from the sideline to the coach’s booth in order to call plays for the first time this season, hoping a change in location would give him a different view of the 22 players on the field. It didn’t do much to change the Chargers’ fortunes.
“I thought he called a great game,” Herbert said. “There were no issues with it.”
EXTRA POINTS
The Chargers inducted kicker John Carney and wide receiver Anthony Miller into their Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony. … Left guard Kayode Awosika was inactive again because of a fibula injury he suffered in Week 2. … Linebacker Denzel Perryman (pectoral) and tight end David Njoku (fibula) remained on the designated to return from injured reserve list.