Chargers Hold on Despite Tebow’s Theatrics

Final Score: Chargers 29 – Broncos 24

The Chargers got off to a solid start, stumbled, charged to the lead, then stumbled again. When it was all said and done, they held on for a tough win in the Mile High City.

The Charger defense came out strong and held the Broncos to a three and out. The offense then took to the field and marched to the 14 yard line. Ryan Mathews gained 21 of his eventual career high 125 yards on the way. They stalled at that point and gained only six yards on the next three downs. Nick Novak came out and sent a 24 yard field goal through the uprights to give the Bolts the lead at 3-0.

Denver then came out and picked up one first down before  throwing an interception to second year linebacker Donald  Butler. Butler was second on the team in total tackles with four.

The Chargers returned the favor after two plays when Rivers threw to Patrick Crayton, who deflected the ball to Cassius Vaughn who returned it 55 yards for a Bronco touchdown.

The next drive took the Chargers into the red zone again. Mathews made a nice cut in the backfield and broke a tackle to go 36 yards before being pushed out of bounds on the highlight of the drive. The Bolts got the ball to the seven yard line, but Rivers was sacked and Novak ended up hitting his second field goal of the game from 32 yards out.

The Chargers trailed 7-6 heading into the second quarter.

The Broncos quickly retook the lead on a 35 yard Matt Prater field goal.

The next Charger drive was successful, but Mike Tolbert was forced to exit the game with a concussion. Phillip Rivers completed a 32 yard pass to Kory Sperry, and the Chargers automatically gained 15 more yards when the Broncos were called for roughing the passer. That took the Bolts all the way to the Denver 27. Two plays later offsetting penalties were called for unnecessary roughness. The Chargers would complete the drive and take the lead shortly after that when Rivers dropped back before scurrying up the middle for a two yard touchdown.

The Chargers had the lead at 13-10 at this point, and they would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game.

The Broncos gained only one first down for the rest of the half, but the Chargers got on the board twice more. Nick Novak was called on once again, and was successful from 28 yards out. Then, with the clock running out on the half, Rivers found an open Malcom Floyd sprinting down the sideline and they connected for a 42 yard touchdown.

The Chargers headed into the locker room with a comfortable 23-10 lead. Neither team scored in the third quarter, but each team punted twice. The main point of interest in the quarter was that Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton as the Bronco quarterback for the rest of the game. The quarter came to an end with San Diego in possession of the ball.

The start of the fourth quarter saw Nick Novak make the longest field goal of his career. He hit a 51 yarder to put the Chargers up 26-10.

The teams traded punts one more time before it started to look like the wheels may come off for the Chargers. Ryan Mathews went out of the game with a calf strain right before the San Diego punt, and left the stadium after the game on crutches.

After a 15 yard punt return, the Chargers were overwhelmed by the rushing attack of the Broncos. Willis McGahee ran for 28 yards, and Tim Tebow followed with an 11 yard run. Tebow then ran 12 more yards for a Denver touchdown. Denver was down 9 with the touchdown run, so they opted to go for two to make it a one touchdown game. Willis McGahee took the ball straight up the middle and Charger fans everywhere began to dread what was coming next.

The next drive produced a play that was eerily reminiscent of the Ed Hochuli fiasco. Phillip Rivers had the ball knocked out of his hand as he was winding up for a throw, and he propelled the ball that fell between his arm and shoulder forward. The play was reviewed and ruled to be a fumble, and since no Chargers had tried to recover the ball because they believed it to be an incomplete pass, the Broncos took over in San Diego territory.

The Broncos struck quickly with the possession as Tebow found Knowshon Moreno open to his right, and Moreno sprinted towards the end zone, broke a tackle, and dove in for a 28 yard score. Obviously, the Broncos would go for two again to tie the game. This time, Tim Tebow dropped back to look for a receiver. He found Brandon Lloyd in coverage who appeared to catch the ball initially, but Antoine Cason was able to knock it away to deny the two point conversion.

The Chargers took over with 3:19 left and needed to run out the clock or score a touchdown to end the game. Rivers found Floyd for 38 yards, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Denver shortly after put the Chargers in field goal range. The Chargers gained only five more yards from that point, and lined up for a 35 yard field goal with 28 seconds left. Novak, who has become Mr. Dependable, nailed the attempt. He was five of five on the game.

After a touchback, the Broncos took to the field to try to score a winning touchdown. The Chargers went into a prevent defense, and Tebow exploited it by completing 20 and 31 yard passes. After the second completion, the Broncos ran to the line and spiked the ball with one second left. They had one last chance to win the game. Tebow dropped back, and four Chargers chased him in circles around the backfield, but he found room and fired a pass to the back of the end zone. It was difficult to tell what happened to the pass initially, but Marcus Gilchrist knocked it to the ground and the Chargers escaped with the win.

Sunday’s game was definitely a little too close for comfort. The Chargers looked to be comfortably ahead through the third quarter, but they were unable to stop Denver’s momentum through the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, the Bolts did hang on for the win and still sit in first place at 4-1. Now they have the bye week to get healthy and prepare for a tough trip to the Meadowlands to play the Jets. They will need their best effort yet to get a win, so hopefully they can piece it all together with the extra week of preparation.