Ugly Performance on Monday Night

So much for first place. Is it too early to say so much for the season? Yes, but it’s hard to feel any other way at the moment.

The Charger’s latest meltdown went like this.

The Bolts started out with the ball and did nothing. The Chiefs came back with a field goal.

Phillip Rivers’ evil twin then came out and threw it to the Chiefs. Okay, it wasn’t his evil twin, but that’s the most rationale thing I can think of. Some have speculated that he is feeling the effects of an undisclosed injury, but that can’t explain away the mental mistakes and bad throws that won’t seem to stop.

The Chargers seemed to catch a break immediately after when Dexter McCluster fumbled and the Chargers recovered. The fumble appeared to be questionable on replay, but there wasn’t sufficient evidence to overturn it and the Bolts retook possession.

Rivers came back a few plays later and threw a pass which was deflected and picked off.

The Chiefs made Rivers and Co. pay this time with a drive that was capped by a 39 yard Jon Baldwin touchdown reception.

The Chargers didn’t do much on the ensuing drive, but they held the Chiefs on their next possession with the help of an offensive pass interference call against KC’s Dwayne Bowe.

The next drive produced a field goal for the Bolts, but not before Patrick Crayton was flagged for offensive pass interference. With all the talk about defensive pass interference resulting from last week’s game, offensive pass interference will be the subject of some water cooler talk this week.

The Chargers defense then came up with a big three and out, and appeared to be in great position to even the score when they began driving down the field. They picked up 38 yards on their first three plays, but Ryan Mathews fumbled on the fourth and the Chiefs recovered.

Again, the Chiefs would follow a Charger turnover with one of their own. Matt Cassel was initially ruled to have thrown an incomplete pass, but the Chargers challenged the call and he was ruled to have fumbled.

Offensive pass interference reared its head again when Rivers threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to Gates which came back on the penalty. I would complain more about the questionable call, but the Chargers sealed their own fate Monday night with sloppy play. They would end up lining up for a field goal. Nick Novak was in position to be the first Charger kicker since John Carney to hit his first 13 field goals in a season, but he missed to the right on a 52 yarder.

The Chiefs had not stopped the clock on the Charger possession, so they only had 1:11 left in the half to get on the board again. It was enough time for Kansas City to get it field goal range, and Ryan Succop hit his second field goal of the night to give the Chiefs a 13-3 lead going into the half.

The Chargers got going in the right direction to start the second half. They held Kansas City to a three and out, and then took the ball into Chiefs territory. Nick Novak was called on for the third time, and he successfully converted a 44 yard field goal attempt.

Eric Weddle came up with a big interception to halt the Chiefs on their next drive. The interception was almost another infuriating moment as Takeo Spikes and Weddle both went to intercept the pass and almost knocked it to the ground.

Momentum seemed to be going San Diego’s way for the remainder of the third quarter. Novak converted two more field goal attempts and Kansas City was unable to get on the board.

The Chiefs offense woke up again after the second Charger field goal. Jackie Battle appeared to have reached the endzone on an 18 yard reception, but was ruled down on the one yard line. Battle would not be denied, however, and jumped over the pile to reach the ball into the end zone on the next play.

The score was 20-12, and the Chargers knew they needed to finally reach the end zone if they were to have a shot. They did just that by putting together a nice drive capped by a Curtis Brinkley touchdown. Injuries to Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews gave Brinkley his opportunity, and he made the most out of it. An 18 yard reception by Brinkley put the Chargers on the two yard line. Brinkley then imitated Battle by getting high and reaching the ball across the line. Needing a two point conversion to tie the game, Rivers found Brinkley once more who again just got the ball across the line.

The Chargers then looked to finally take the lead. They held the Chiefs to a three and out to give the offense a chance to win. Brinkley put his stamp on the game again by adding 26 rushing yards, and the Bolts found themselves on the 16 yard line. Phillip Rivers’ evil twin chose a bad time to show up again. (Wait, is it his evil twin or isn’t it? I’m starting to wonder myself…) Rivers inexplicably failed to take the snap from Nick Hardwick and the Chiefs jumped on the ball.

On to overtime, where the Chargers won the toss and received the ball. Could they put it together and escape Arrowhead Stadium with a win to remain solely  in first place? No. They went three and out, and the Chiefs drove down the field. In field goal range, Succop was successful and brought an end to the miserable game.

It’s hard to know what to say after a loss like this. 4-1 has turned into 4-3 headed into a matchup with the Super Bowl Champions.

I hold on to hope because the Monday Night fiasco took place on the last day of October. Is it Norvember?