Redskins Breakdown: Team shows nothing in embarrassing loss to Chargers

Coaching: Where’s the motivation?

This is the biggest qualm that many have with the coaching staff. We can write off some losses for injuries. We can write off some bad luck. But at the end of the day, if the team doesn’t play hard, that falls on the coaches for not motivating the players and the players for not trying hard.

This has been a problem on the Jay Gruden-led teams of the past two seasons. In big moments, the team has come up short when trying to compete in the postseason race. Looking back to 2016, Week 15 against Carolina and Week 17 against the Giants were two losses where the Redskins didn’t show up. And they could afford those losses.

This week, the Redskins needed to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Granted, they were still unlikely to make the postseason even with a win, but one would have figured they’d come out with a respectable effort. Instead, they fell flat on their face. They punted on seven consecutive possessions at one point. And worst of all, the players didn’t look like they cared anymore.

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Gruden needs to get something out his players in the last few weeks. If this type of lackadaisical performance becomes a week-in and week-out thing for the Redskins to close the season, Gruden could find his seat getting hotter and hotter. For now, his job is safe, but the seat is definitely getting warm after the terrible effort they put forth in L.A.