Los Angeles Chargers squeak by the Indianapolis Colts in opener
By Hil Lopez
The Los Angeles Chargers seemed to have an easy game on their hand with Andrew Luck retiring from football but it was anything but that on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Chargers welcomed the Indianapolis Colts to Dignity Health Sports Park for the season opener.
The game was very back and forth as the Colts were able to battle back and get within two near the end of the game with T.Y. Hilton grabbing a touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett with 39 seconds remaining.
To get to overtime, they had to get a two-point conversion and were able to with Marlon Mack running it in from the two-yard line.
The game went to overtime, and Philip Rivers was masterful as he completed a couple passes to Keenen Allen and Hunter Henry to get the Chargers in the red zone. On a key 3rd and 1 play from the nine-yard line, fullback T.J. Watt was able to rush it for two yards to get first and goal for the Chargers.
On the ensuing play, Austin Ekeler ran it in from seven yards, to end the game. The Los Angeles Chargers won, 30-24.
The Chargers did not miss holdout running back Melvin Gordon as Ekeler and Justin Jackson formed quite a running back tandem. Ekeler had 154 total yards (96 receiving, 58 rushing) and three total touchdowns.
Jackson, on the other hand, had 61 total yards (57 rushing, four receiving). Also, Philip Rivers led the way in passing for 333 yards, with Keenan Allen having123 of those yards on eight receptions and a touchdown.
The Chargers’ defense and special teams did quite well against the Colts too. Though they did not force any turnovers in this game, they piled up a ton of tackles as former Panther Thomas Davis racked up a total of 14 tackles with seven solo ones.
They also received a key contribution from punter Ty Long, who kicked a field goal and converted a couple of extra points. He filled in for injured kicker Michael Badgley, who was nursing an injury.
With the win today, the Chargers finally got off to a good start for the season. Over the past couple years, the Chargers have been plagued by numerous issues. One was getting off to a slow start at the beginning of the seasons and the other was their kicking game on special teams.
Next. History shows that LA doesn't need Melvin Gordon. dark
They solved one issue today in getting off to a good start in winning their opener. With the complete team effort today, the Chargers are poised to make a deep postseason run.