What does an NFL team do when late-game doubt creeps in? How does it address dark thoughts in the final moments of games, the cracks in confidence that can slowly spider-web like a rock chip on a windshield?
For the Chargers, it's the worst kind of thing to fix.
Trouble in the passing game? Run more practice routes to fine-tune timing. Faulty blocking schemes? Watch film and adjust assignments. Missed tackles? Increase drills focused on wrapping up.
Fits of frustration between the ears? Well, good luck. There's no sure-fire remedy for that one.
"That's a heckuva question," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said Tuesday, less than 48 hours after another mangled finish _ this one punctuated by a botched field-goal hold in a loss to the Raiders.
"It can become a mental piece, because it's really not a physical piece. We can't go to the drawing board and say, 'All right, if we had done this, we wouldn't have fumbled two plays in a row,' or 'If we had done this,' we wouldn't have had some of the disastrous things happen."
The Chargers remain the only NFL team yet to trail at halftime this season. The team led three of its games entering the fourth quarter, finding itself behind by just four combined points in the two others. Only the Falcons have scored more points.
The team consistently positions itself to win. Then, it consistently doesn't.
On his national radio show Tuesday, Colin Cowherd played a game with co-workers that forced him to guess the betting lines for NFL games. After a fast start, Cowherd struggled late. He said he felt like ... wait for it ... the Chargers.
The brain, Rivers reasoned, shares more of the NFL workload with brawn than most realize.
"It's the mental challenge, really, now," he said. "Are we going to find a way to win? Or are we are going to find a new way (to lose)? Hopefully, we've ran out of ways."
Opponents are doubling up the Chargers in fourth quarters, outscoring the bewildered Bolts 58-26. The late stumbles have translated to a maddening 1-4 record.
The Chargers aren't being overpowered, simply unraveling at the worst times. A 21-point comeback. A fumble without contact. A chip-shot field goal blown up before foot found ball. The array, stunning in its win-killing diversity.
Offensive tackle Joe Barksdale said none of the solutions exist in the past.
Eyes forward.
"If you have a bad play _ or if you have 10 bad plays in a row _ get up and play," Barksdale said. "You have a bad ending to a game, you have two bad endings to a game, you have three, you have four, it doesn't mean you're not going to try again.
"You keep going. That's what's so beautiful about this game and about life. You're not really out until you take yourself out."
How does a team like baseball's San Francisco Giants win 10 playoff elimination games in a row, heading into Tuesday night? How does the mental makeup differ for a team that delivers at the end, compared to the ones that don't?
The Chargers, at this point, are the free-throw shooter who tightens up at the line in the final seconds. They're the golfer who can't stop lipping out putts on 18. They're Charlie Brown waiting for Lucy to yank away the ball. Again.
Coach Mike McCoy, while insisting "our team has a ton of confidence," struggled to identify the momentum-crushing monster under the bed.
"It's not a lack of effort, it's not a lack of want-to," he said.
In the NFL, though, only winning matters. Close is sport-speak for another loss.
"What is it? I really don't know the answer to that," nose guard Brandon Mebane said. "We're trying to figure it out."
Rivers said one thing always remains in control for teams fighting the win-loss spiral.
"Look, moping around doesn't help," he said. "It's not going help us win on Thursday (vs. Denver). So the guys have the right attitude. Act like we've won 'em all, as far as how you prepare and how you act around each other.
"We're the same guys. Yeah, we're disappointed. We're aggravated. We're in some ways embarrassed that we're not sitting here, at the worst 3-2. At the very worst, 3-2. But we're not. So, what are we going to do about it? We're going to show up on Thursday and try to beat the Broncos."
One things seems certain.
"Odds are saying, though, that we're going to be in the game with about 5 minutes left," River said.
For the Chargers, that's the good part.
And this season, it's also the most frustrating part.
