CARSON Montez Sweat Jersey , Calif. (AP)Coach Jay Gruden was thoroughly baffled by his Redskins’ performance. Washington safety D.J. Swearinger blamed poor practices and a deficient mental approach. Kirk Cousins was simply disappointed when the Redskins’ playoff hopes officially ended in a soccer stadium in Southern California. But perhaps Washington shouldn’t have been quite so self-critical after a 30-13 loss on Sunday. After all, Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers (7-6) have made most of their opponents feel really bad about themselves over the past 10 weeks as they’ve surged above .500 and into the thick of the AFC playoff race. While the Chargers dominated in their fourth straight win, the Redskins (5-8) were eliminated from postseason contention with their sixth loss in eight games. Washington managed only 201 total yards and fell behind by 24 points in the third quarter. ”I’m at a loss for words, quite honestly,” Gruden said. ”I never thought we’d get beat like this two weeks in a row.” Washington followed up its 38-14 loss at Dallas last week with another thrashing. Rivers passed for 319 yards in the Chargers’ seventh victory in nine games, hitting Tyrell Williams and Hunter Henry for touchdowns. Los Angeles racked up 429 yards by midway through the third quarter, and Melvin Gordon rushed for a final touchdown before several regulars took most of the fourth quarter off. Cousins hit Vernon Davis with an early TD pass , but the Redskins were left dismayed by another lost season. Swearinger, who joined the Redskins this year, wasn’t afraid to cite specific factors in their downfall, including Washington’s effort in practice this week. ”It was like just this, `Blah, blah. OK, we’re out here at practice. Blah,”’ Swearinger said. ”We’ve got to practice better. I’ve been saying it all year. … It’s not surprising at all to me. You don’t prepare well, you’re going to fail. I don’t think we prepared well with some of the questions that’s been asked (by players) before the game. `Are you doing this right here? Are you doing this right there?’ We’re just not prepared.” Although Bashaud Breeland returned an interception of Kellen Clemens’ pass 96 yards for a touchdown with 2:36 to play, Washington’s defense had few answers. The Redskins gave up 8.24 yards per play during the first three quarters, and the Chargers successfully ran a reverse and a flea-flicker to Keenan Allen. ”We’ve definitely taken steps back (on defense),” Swearinger said. ”We had 30 put on us today. Dallas put (38) on us last week. We’ve taken major steps back.” More things to know about the Chargers’ fourth win over the Redskins in five meetings: CHARGE AHEAD Williams caught a 75-yard touchdown pass for the Chargers, whose 0-4 start to their relocation season seems a distant memory. The Chargers even have a winning record for the first time since September 2015. They’ve outscored their opponents 131-53 during their four-game winning streak while outgaining them by a whopping 731 total yards. They’ve also won four straight home games since starting 0-3 at StubHub Center. BIG PHILLY STYLE Rivers moved ahead of Warren Moon for ninth place in NFL history in career yards passing. During the four-game winning streak, Rivers has passed for 1,348 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He also surpassed 3,500 yards passing for the 10th consecutive season Dwayne Haskins Jersey , joining Peyton Manning and Drew Brees as the only NFL quarterbacks to hit the mark in 10 straight years. Manning and Brees, whose streak is active, did it 13 times. PENALTY KICKS Washington linebacker Zach Brown sprained his toe in the second half and left in a walking boot. He blamed the StubHub Center turf: ”That field is crap. It’s made for soccer.” The field in the Chargers’ temporary home hasn’t received serious criticism from previous opponents, but the Redskins did appear to be slipping regularly. MISSED CHANCE Los Angeles had a 23-6 lead when it drove 81 yards in the final 1:25 before halftime. The Chargers missed out on even more points because Austin Ekeler was tackled on a 33-yard run at the Washington 4 as time ran out. Lynn blamed Ekeler for risking a run to end zone despite knowing he needed to get down. POINT BREAK The Chargers’ 24-point lead in the third quarter allowed several regulars to rest in the fourth. Los Angeles will need it before the biggest game of the season to date: Saturday’s showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs (7-6), their co-leaders in the AFC West. ”These are the games you grow up dreaming about playing, and here we are playing it with two teams that are sitting there at 7-6,” Rivers said. — ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Colt McCoy silenced his phone knowing he was coming back to his home state for his first NFL start in four years, in the stadium where he helped lead the Texas Longhorns to a shot at a national title as their star quarterback and where he last won a game as a pro.The longtime Washington backup also knows what’s most important as he takes over following Alex Smith’s season-ending leg injury . The Redskins (6-4) can control the NFC East by beating the rival Dallas Cowboys (5-5) in the most traditional of Thanksgiving games Thursday.“I’m thankful for the opportunity, but I think it’s even more than that,” McCoy said. “It’s time to just go play and put everything else aside. We have a huge game this week. It’s a huge game.”McCoy is 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, beating Nebraska for the 2009 Big 12 championship and a spot in the BCS championship game, which Texas lost to Alabama when McCoy got hurt early. The small-town Texas kid beat the Cowboys five years later, completing 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards in a 20-17 overtime win for the Redskins.He’s 32 now, and hasn’t started since the last of three straight defeats late in the 2014 season, a little more than a month removed from that win over the Cowboys. McCoy, a third-round pick by Cleveland in 2010 after that title-game loss to the Crimson Tide, has a career record of 7-18.McCoy is in his fifth year as Washington’s backup and has played just four games over four seasons, including when he replaced Smith in the third quarter of Sunday’s 23-21 loss to Houston. A potential winning drive stalled near midfield, and Dustin Hopkins‘ 63-yard field goal try fell short with 3 seconds left.“It’s been a while since he’s played in a significant game. That’ll be the challenge,” coach Jay Gruden said.“I know he’s excited as heck, man. He hated to get the opportunity the way he got it with Alex getting hurt. I understand that. But deep down inside, he’s been waiting for this.”Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott has been waiting for another Thanksgiving game since he had to miss last year on his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations. In his Thanksgiving debut against the Redskins two years ago as a rookie Dwayne Haskins Redskins Jersey , he jumped into the giant Salvation Army red kettle after a touchdown in a 31-26 Dallas win.The Cowboys have a chance to tie the Redskins for the division lead thanks to their first winning streak of the season, a pair of victories on the road after they were winless in their first four away from home.“We said this a couple weeks ago, though; we knew that the division was still in front of us,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “Our backs are still against the wall. We know what this game means. We know how important this game is.”BIG RETURNSWashington could get a major boost if any combination of left tackle Trent Williams, running back Chris Thompson, wide receiver Jamison Crowder and cornerback Quinton Dunbar can return from lengthy injury absences.Williams just needs to feel comfortable blocking after surgery for a dislocated right thumb, and Thompson said his injured ribs feel markedly better this week. Dunbar, who’s dealing with nerve damage as part of a shin injury, feels “pretty close” but isn’t sure if he’ll make the problem worse.ELLIOTT’S WORKLOADIt just so happens that Elliott’s season high in touches — 30 in a 22-19 win over Atlanta — came on the Cowboys’ annual short week. In road wins over the NFC’s past two Super Bowl participants in Philadelphia and Atlanta, from scrimmage and three touchdowns.“If that’s what it has to be then that’s what it’s going to be,” said Elliott, who needs 91 yards rushing to overtake idle NFL rushing leader and MVP contender Todd Gurley. “I’m definitely not afraid of that.”BALANCING ACTPart of the Redskins’ challenge in helping McCoy succeed is getting Adrian Peterson going on the ground. Peterson had just 16 carries for 51 yards in the loss to Houston, but ran for two touchdowns and is looking forward to playing back in his home state of Texas.The pressure’s on Peterson and the rest of Washington’s running backs to produce in the running and passing games. The former Oklahoma standout had 99 yards in the earlier win over the Cowboys.GALLUP BACKDallas rookie receiver Michael Gallup is expected to play after rejoining the team Wednesday. He stayed behind with his family after getting the news following the win over the Falcons that his brother died by suicide.“The situation’s unique, the individual’s unique, the circumstances,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I do think for all of us as we go through challenging things, I do think getting back to routine and structure typically can help us.”STARTS WITH DEFENSEThe Redskins, who haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher, held Elliott to 33 yards in a 20-17 win in the first meeting. It’s the second-lowest total of his career. Both teams are in the top five in scoring defense and in the top six in rushing defense.