Here are some areas the San Diego Chargers need to focus on after a 34-24 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday:
Recap: San Diego lost for the fourth time in the past five games. The team is now 4-5 and is two games behind Denver in the AFC West race.
Biggest area to fix: Second-half play. San Diego led, 21-17, at halftime, but was outscored 17-3 by the Buccaneers in the second half. San Diego has given up huge leads in the second half against New Orleans and in Denver. This team has to stop self-destructing.
Biggest area to build on: Penalties. The Chargers were penalized just one time for five yards. That is excellent discipline and a sign that something is working with the coaching of this team. Now if they could stop making critical turnovers, they'd be in business.
What to watch for: Don’t expect to hear much about it from San Diego this week, but I think the Chargers will be somewhat motivated to face Denver because of the Towelgate investigation stemming from an Oct. 14 game. The Chargers were cleared, but I know some people in the organization are annoyed that the investigation even happened. Will it play a role in this game? We’ll see, but there could be some bad blood.