It’s December, but Troy Dye has been transported back to the dog days of training camp, when the calls were simple. The hours and days on the field ran together. His body aches were the same.
A Thursday night game can have that effect.
“It’s a true football test game for sure,” Dye said.
Four short days after a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chargers will try to regroup to face the Denver Broncos at 5:15 p.m. PST on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
Preparing for this week’s short turnaround was more complicated than a typical Thursday night game. The AFC West rivals were not originally scheduled to play in prime time, but the key matchup was shifted from Sunday to “Thursday Night Football,” replacing a game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Instead of the AFC North teams currently outside of the playoff picture, the NFL’s first “Thursday Night Football” flex will treat a national audience to a matchup with direct playoff implications.
The Broncos (9-5), the No. 6 seed in the AFC, can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a tie while the Chargers (8-6) are trying to improve their No. 7 seed and snap a two-game losing streak.
Once the change was announced on Nov. 22 — adhering to a 28-day window approved by owners in May 2023 — the Chargers’ team of coaching analysts sprung into action. The change shifted the workload for staff members who work weeks ahead to break down film and identify an opposing team’s tendencies.
Coaches already were having quiet meetings about the Broncos game last week while preparing to play the Buccaneers.
Then after the 40-17 loss that ended at 4:27 p.m., offensive coordinator Greg Roman was in his office at the Chargers practice facility in El Segundo looking at film and preparing the game plan for the Broncos by 6:30 p.m.
When did Roman leave that night?
“Late,” he said with a smirk. “Really late.”
Players were on a similar schedule. The moment they left the locker room Sunday, minds shifted toward the Broncos. Dye was at home by 7 p.m. and already looking at film of the Broncos.
Between game planning and physical recovery, any hopes of personal time to decompress are gone during a short week.
“We’re professionals,” offensive lineman Zion Johnson said, “so we get on it early, watch the film at home, make sure that we’re on top of everything we need to be.”
For players, Mondays after games are mostly off and Tuesdays are half days. But with this week’s Monday unofficially transforming into game-week Wednesday, players were on the practice field for walk-throughs the day after the loss. Walk-throughs and mental reps are the majority of a team’s preparation while protecting players’ bodies on a short week.
“The biggest thing is the mental aspect of it,” Dye said, “because the turnaround for your body is gonna be difficult on both teams regardless. So whoever can get ahead mentally is gonna have that bigger edge.”
Familiarity between the divisional rivals makes the game preparation on a short week easier, coaches and players said. The Chargers can look back at film from their Week 6 win in Denver for a baseline understanding of how the Broncos could attack but they realize a lot has changed.
The Broncos used a fourth-quarter surge that fell short against the Chargers to gain momentum toward six wins in the next eight weeks. After the loss, the Broncos turned around for a road Thursday night game, mastering the difficult condensed week to defeat the Saints in New Orleans on Oct. 17.
“I just think we as coaches have learned a lot about how to play these games maybe differently than when we were first doing it,” Broncos coach Sean Payton told reporters this week of preparing for a second Thursday night game in a season. “I think it’s important to really look closely at not over-installing. Making sure the guys know what they’re getting by heart.”
To Roman, setting up a streamlined but effective game plan is no challenge compared with the physical recovery players go through. The team set up a makeshift training room in the SoFi Stadium locker room right after Sunday’s game. During the week, players have to maximize their time by staying late or watching film while in the treatment room.
“I feel like time is an illusion,” outside linebacker Khalil Mack said. “You can do everything to attack the week the same way you would with the extra three days.”
The 11-year veteran has meticulously cared for his body while in the twilight of his career. Mack typically rests on Wednesdays, recovering in the training room during what his teammates jokingly call “spa days.” The 33-year-old was nursing a complicated groin injury that affected both legs and kept him out for a game earlier this season. It was the first time he was inactive for a game since 2021.
Mack stayed in the recovery tub late Monday and said he still had treatment left to accomplish after his news conference ended at 5:45 p.m. But whether late-season aches on a short week or the wounds of a blowout loss, nothing heals like a win.
“The only medicine is to get it fixed on the game days and to get another win,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “We get to do that Thursday. We don’t have to wait a whole week.”