The Sports Report: Same old Chargers

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers lost a playoff game Saturday night that they led by 27 points.

A playoff game in which one of their players had three interceptions.

A playoff game that ended with them having a 5-0 edge in takeaways.

The Chargers lost to Jacksonville 31-30 when Riley Patterson kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired, bringing a sudden and shocking end to a season as inconsistent as their final game.

“I don’t even have any words for it right now,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “I’ve been playing football 21 years and I ain’t never felt like this.”

“It’s pretty obvious why we blew that lead,” Joey Bosa said. “Mistakes, penalties all around, me definitely included.”

After a pause, he added: “I don’t know. I’ve been here a lot where we get up and get a little comfortable and then, boom, it’s the fourth quarter and it’s the final drive and they’re kicking a field goal.”

Now they enter an offseason loaded with questions, starting with the status of coach Brandon Staley.

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NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Wild-card round
Saturday
Jacksonville 31, Chargers 30
San Francisco 41, Seattle 23

Today
Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m., CBS, Paramount+
New York Giants at Minnesota, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Baltimore at Cincinnati, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 5:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC, ESPN2-Manningcast, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes

Note: Divisional round is Friday and Saturday, opponents and times to be determined.

UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: Nearly everything was trending the wrong way for UCLA, jeopardizing the nation’s longest winning streak among major conference teams.

Shots didn’t fall. Neither did free throws. Foul-plagued center Adem Bona was scoreless at halftime.

With a little more than 10 minutes left Saturday evening, the Bruins trailed Colorado by nine points. An increasingly restless Pauley Pavilion crowd groaned after one UCLA possession ended with three missed three-pointers by David Singleton, part of the Bruins’ game-opening 0-for-15 stretch from beyond the arc.

Through it all, UCLA still had one thing going for it: its dogged defense.

Tipping balls, blocking shots and stealing passes, the Bruins relied on getting stops before their offense finally started to roll.

Seventh-ranked UCLA ran Colorado off the court with a 68-54 victory sparked by the Bruins’ game-ending 33-10 run in which they thrived across the board to extend their winning streak to 13 games.

USC BASKETBALL

Boogie Ellis scored 17 points and shot seven for 13 from the field, Tre White contributed 13 points, and USC beat Utah 71-56 on Saturday night at Galen Center.

The Trojans (13-5, 5-2 Pac-12 Conference) have won nine consecutive home games, their longest single-season streak since they won their first nine games at Galen Center to start the 2016-17 season.

Reese Dixon-Waters and Drew Peterson each had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists for USC.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1965 — In one of the most notable trades in NBA history, the San Francisco Warriors deal Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and cash.

1967 — The NFL’s Green Bay Packers open the Super Bowl series by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL, 35-10.

1978 — The Dallas Cowboys take advantage of eight Denver turnovers en route to a 27-10 victory over the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Butch Johnson’s diving catch in the end zone completes a 45-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach and puts the Cowboys ahead 20-3 in the third quarter.

1994 — Ricky Watters of San Francisco scores an NFL postseason-record five touchdowns as the 49ers beat the New York Giants 44-3.

1995 — San Diego linebacker Dennis Gibson twice knocks down passes in the end zone — the last one on fourth down — to preserve the Chargers’ biggest NFL victory, a 17-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship.

1997 — Patrick Lalime becomes the first goalie since NHL expansion in 1967 to open his career with a 15-game unbeaten streak as Pittsburgh beats Hartford 3-0.

2000 — The Jacksonville Jaguars steamroll their way into the history books and the AFC championship game. In the second-most overpowering playoff performance ever, the Jaguars rout the Miami Dolphins 62-7. The 55-point margin is the second-largest in playoff history.

2001 — Peace College beats Bennett College 98-3 in women’s college basketball as Bennett sets an NCAA Division III women’s record for fewest points scored.

2004 — Michelle Wie shoots a respectable round of 2-over 72, leaving her nine strokes behind the leader after one round at the PGA Sony Open in Honolulu. Wie, 14, is believed to be the youngest player ever on the PGA Tour.

2005 — Michelle Kwan wins her ninth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, tying Maribel Vinson for the all-time record.

2011 — Kyle Kuric’s lay-up with 4 seconds remaining caps a furious rally by No. 18 Louisville and the Cardinals stun Marquette 71-70. Louisville trails by 18 with 5:44 to go but close the game on a 24-5 run fueled by guard Preston Knowles.

2011 — Sixth-seeded Green Bay routs the Falcons 48-21 in Atlanta as Aaron Rodgers throws for three touchdowns and runs for one. The 48 points are the most for the Packers in a postseason game.

2012 — New York’s Eli Manning throws three touchdown passes and the Giants shock the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in an NFC divisional playoff game. The Packers, 15-1 in the regular season, become the seventh consecutive Super Bowl champ not to advance to the Super Bowl the next year.

2017 — Justin Thomas wins the Sony Open with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history. Thomas caps off his wonderful week at Waialae that began with a 59 with his second straight victory. He two-putts a birdie from 60 feet on the par-5 18th and closes with a 5-under 65 to set the record at 253. Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.

2017 — Aaron Rodgers throws a 36-yard pass to a toe-dragging Jared Cook on the sideline, and Mason Crosby kicks a 51-yard field goal on the next play as time expires, sending Green Bay to the NFC championship game with its eighth straight win while thwarting a Dallas rally in a 34-31 victory in the divisional round of the playoffs.

2018 - US Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Simone Biles says she is one of more than 130 women sexually abused by former team doctor Larry Nassar

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Chargers vs. Jaguars game highlights. Watch and listen here.