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Chargers' Brandon Staley defends playing starters with 5-seed locked

DENVER -- Chargers coach Brandon Staley offered no apology Sunday after playing starters throughout most of a 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos in the regular-season finale, despite Los Angeles clinching the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs moments before kickoff.

"These aren't easy decisions," Staley said after the game. "They're not easy decisions and hindsight is perfect for everybody on the outside, but these games are not easy to manage. They're not, because you don't have that many players and we did it to the best of our ability."

Wide receiver Mike Williams suffered a back injury in the second quarter, was assisted off the field by the training staff and taken into the locker room on a cart, a situation that tight end Gerald Everett described after the game as "demoralizing.