Chargers Do Just Enough for Win
By James
Final Score: Chargers 20 – Chiefs 17
The Chargers entered week three needing to rebound from a tough loss in New England. The schedule seemed to offer a perfect opportunity. The ailing Kansas City Chiefs came limping into Qualcomm Stadium after suffering two blowout losses and injuries to key players on both sides of the ball to start the year. They proved to be much tougher to deal with than anyone anticipated.
The Bolts’ defense came out looking strong against the Chiefs and held them to a three and out. Phillip Rivers then came out looking to put back to back multiple interception games behind him. Instead, he got a start on his third in a row. A pass intended for Vincent Jackson was picked off and returned to the Chargers’ own 35. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bolts put the Chiefs on the San Diego 20.
It seemed inevitable that Kansas City would score first with a drive starting on the San Diego 20 yard line. The Chiefs picked up nine yards on the first three downs, and appeared to pick up the extra yard they needed when they went for it on 4th and 1. They were called for holding, however, and Chiefs’ kicker Ryan Succop came out to attempt a 38 yarder. Succop’s miss on the attempt was notable in that Charger opponents have hit every field goal they have attempted in the past 30 games.
The Chargers resumed possession at their own 20 yard line and began their first successful drive of the afternoon. They had a scare on the drive when Rivers was hit and coughed up the ball, but standout center Nick Hardwick was able to cover for his quarterback and recover the ball. Randy McMichael, Patrick Crayton, and Mike Tolbert all had catches on a drive that was capitalized with a Ryan Mathews two yard touchdown run.
After a rookie season that was marred by injury and fumbles, Mathews is stepping up as a consistent contributor and an important part of the offense. He would finish the day with 98 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, as well as 51 yards on four receptions.
The defense continued to stuff the Chiefs’ offense for the remainder of the half. Kansas City did not pick up a single first down in the first half. Charger kicker Nick Novak hit a 35 yard field goal on his first attempt since being signed by the team again to bring the score to 10-0.
Rivers threw his second interception of the game in the half. He also threw a couple of nearly intercepted passes throughout the game. It is unusual to see him struggle to the extent that he has.
Charger fans are used to the quarterback position being the most reliable on the team. It may be frustrating, but his slump will not last an entire season. Even the greats go through rough patches at times, so any Charger fans asking to see Billy Volek already are very unlikely to get their wish. (And no, I’m not making that up. Some fans actually were yelling “Bench Rivers!”)
The Chargers received the ball to start the second half but got nowhere as a sack and a tackle for loss held them up. They punted back to the Chiefs who used a good return to get into San Diego territory. Matt Cassel hooked up with star receiver Dwayne Bowe twice on the drive, including a four yard touchdown reception. The touchdown was not the only bad news on that drive for the Bolts as Quentin Jammer left the game a play earlier with an injury to his hamstring.
The Chargers didn’t waste much time in getting their lead back to 10. Rivers put together a nice drive which included passes of 26 and 20 yards to Randy McMichael and Vincent Jackson respectively. Mathews would cap the drive again, this time with a four yard touchdown run.
With the score at 17-7 and time running out in the third, the Chiefs knew they needed to put a drive together. They would do so as they marched deep into Charger territory. Dexter McCluster had a couple of nifty runs on the drive, and two penalties against the Bolts helped keep the chains moving for Kansas City. Succop would convert a 33 yard field goal attempt to bring the Chiefs within a touchdown. Defensive lineman Jacques Cesaire left the game during the drive with an injury to his knee.
The Chargers once again answered quickly. Nick Novak got his second field goal of the game when he hit a 42 yarder. Novak is two for two in his latest stint with the Bolts.
Just over eight minutes remained and the Chargers seemed to be in good position to hold on for the win. They just could not afford to give up a quick touchdown drive to the Chiefs. Unfortunately, they did exactly that. Cassel took the Chiefs to the one yard line with passes to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston. Breaston looked to have possibly scored on a 43 yard reception, but the ball was spotted on the one yard line. The Chiefs struck right away from there with a touchdown pass to Leonard Pope.
With 4:58 left, the Chargers had the ball at their own 33. Due to poor clock management by the Chiefs, they were not able to stop the clock. The Bolts moved the chains and kept the clock rolling with a first down. Then they were held to nine yards and faced a fourth and one. Rivers attempted to sneak the ball up the middle after his hard count failed to draw Kansas City offsides. He was spotted short of the first down, and Charger fans everywhere had to wonder if a nightmare scenario was going to play out.
The Chiefs appeared poised to drive down the field again when they started off with a 23 yard pass. Cassel’s next pass, however, went to Charger safety Eric Weddle and the Bolts escaped with a win.
Although a win is a win, this was not the game Charger fans were hoping to see.
The Bolts have much tougher opponents than the Chiefs in the coming weeks. It should be kept in mind that Bob Sanders, Antonio Gates, and Corey Liuget were not available today and that probably affected the game. The Charger’s are notorious for starting slow under Norv Turner, so maybe it is progress that they are 2-1 and not 1-2 with a loss to the Chiefs like they were last year.
It is hard to draw conclusions at this point, but the fact that today was a win could be the difference later in the year.