One of the great push-and-pull questions in the NFL is resting starters vs. playing them to avoid rust in meaningle s matchups. The Chargers, confronted with that question in Week 18 on Sunday, appear to have chosen poorly.With the No. 5 seed in the AFC locked up following the Ravens' lo s to the Bengals in the early block, the Chargers elected to play their starters against the Broncos. Georges Niang Jersey As a result, Brandon Staley and company have found themselves being forced to play the waiting game for injury updates.Mike Williams -- who has mi sed five games this year -- and Joey Bosa -- who played in just four games heading into Sunday -- both exited the game early.For Williams it was a back injury that left him questionable to return (the broadcast showed him carted off and helped into the locker room).MORE:Mike Williams (back) is questionable to return. Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) Bosa, meanwhile, was brought off the field in the first half after playing an outstanding half.To make matters worse, linebacker Kenneth Murray was also declared questionable with what the team called a "stinger."Kenneth Murray Jr. (stinger) is questionable to return. Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) Williams, for his part, He's due for more tests Monday that could determine his status for the wild card game against the Jaguars.The move to play starters after playoff positioning was already determined was met with criticism on social media.Why are the Chargers playing guys like Herbert and Mike Williams in a meaningle s game when they know damn well every Grayson Allen Jersey player on their team is made of gla s? Patrick Allen (@RPatrickAllen) Im confused. Mr Analytics Brendon Staley is still playing his starters in a meaningle s game. Why? If Mike Williams doesnt play next week he has some explaining to do Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) Unle s the analytics say injuring Joey Bosa and Mike Williams are good for their wildcard matchup idk what the hell Brandon Staley is doing today Craig Horlbeck (@craighorlbeck) CBS just explained that Staley said this week if you rest guys and lose and then lose next week in playoffs that people will then say you shouldnt have rested guys. Not people who know anything. And since when do NFL coaches make decisions based on what people will say? Jay Posner (@sdutPosner) Ahead of Week 18, head coach Brandon Staley indicated he wasn't going to rest starters, and was true to his word.Our approach is definitely going to get shot to win this ballgame and Emmanuel Mudiay Jersey play as well as we can play heading into the playoffs. I think that theres certainly an advantage to be in the No. 5-seed for re-seeding , from where I stand, so were going to try and get there. Then, the case-by-case nature of the players, I think that that is the approach that were going to take, in terms of whether or not to sit them.I think that going into the playoffs, you have to be playing football to get to where you want to go, so were going to try and maximize our group heading into the playoffs, for sure.With that being said, the Chargers' spot was locked at No. 5, which e sentially made this game meaningle s from a standings perspective."We were trying to compete in the game, Mike Conley Jersey " "And we only have 48 guys on the team that are active for the game. So we wanted to make sure that they went a good ways in this football game and competed at a high level. And then when we felt like it was right for them to get out of the game then that's what we were gonna do. Slowly phase them out so that we could get them ready for next week."When asked who put the players out there, Staley didn't shirk responsibility. "It's definitely my decision," he said.With Justin Herbert specifically, who played through three quarters, Staley Elijah Hughes Jersey defended the choice. "I believe that Justin played the right amount," he said. "I think when you look acro s the league at the other teams who are playing in the playoffs and what they did this last week, I think you'll see a lot of high-level players playing in the football games."Clearly the Chargers weren't comfortable resting on their laurels for this game, but with a game against the Jaguars looming next week, if any of these three players mi s time it could be catastrophic for L.A. The injuries occurring in a game that ultimately has no bearing on the standings just adds insult to injury for a Chargers team that has battled injuries all season.