Chargers Not Looking to Rest Starters vs. Broncos, Focused on Locking in No. 5 Seed

The Chargers have their sights set on the AFC's No. 5 seed.

Nicholas Cothrel | Jan 3, 2023

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The Chargers (10-6) are approaching the regular season finale against the Broncos the same way they have all season, putting their best foot forward to come away with a victory.

Despite locking in a playoff spot, Chargers coach Brandon Staley sees great value in securing the highest seed possible, and a win over the Broncos on Sunday, would give them the No. 5 seed entering the postseason.

"Our approach is definitely going to be to try to win this ballgame and play as well as we can play heading into the playoffs," Staley said. "I think that there's certainly an advantage to being the 5-seed, from where I stand, so we’re going to try and get there."

Staley noted they'll proceed cautiously in handling the health of the players, but didn’t indicate that any of the team's starters would be held out of play for rest purposes.

"The case-by-case nature of the players, I think that is the approach that we’re going to take, in terms of whether or not to sit them," Staley said. "If there’s something that we feel like that would be a good decision, we’ll take that case-by-case.

"I think that going into the playoffs, you have to be playing football to get to where you want to go, so we’re going to try and maximize our group heading into the playoffs."

Running back Austin Ekeler shared where his mentality is at entering Sunday's game, which aligned with his coach in that they each want the AFC's No. 5 seed.

"We have gotten to a spot where we have a chance to go to the playoffs," Ekeler said. "We secured that and now we have a chance where, 'OK, let's try to continue to bump up our seed.'"

As Staley noted, he'll manage the workload of his players accordingly in an effort to keep them healthy. Ekeler, who's started all 16 games at running back this season, says at this point in the year, his body does feel quite beat up.

"My body does not feel good at all, but I can play, for sure," Ekeler said. "The NFL season has a toll on your body. That’s why a lot of us were really against adding an extra game for these reasons, because the season already beats us up.

"You are lucky if you are able to make it through without any substantial injuries. There is no time to heal our bodies, so these things that we have going on, they just stay around."

The Chargers will occupy the No. 5 seed in the AFC with a win over the Broncos or if the Ravens lose in Week 18. The AFC's No. 5 seed will go on the road to face the winner of the Titans-Jaguars Week 18 game in the Wild Card Round.

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