San Diego SportsChargers Defeat Dolphins 23-13
Just Warm Enough On Sunday the San Diego Chargers (2-1) took on the Miami Dolphins (0-3) the temperature on the field was oppressive at nearly 120 degrees and the Chargers’ offense was able to warm up just enough to secure a 23-13 victory. In the win the Chargers showed improvements over their first two games of this season. However, glaring red zone ineptness persists. Now, for only the second time in 7-years, the Chargers have a winning record after the first three games. And they are above .500 in the regular season for the first time since the conclusion of the 2007 season. Initially it appeared that Sunday’s game would follow an all too familiar and frustratingly predictable script: The Chargers fail to score in their opening possession followed by the opponent putting San Diego in an early deficit by running the ball down their throats. In yesterday’s script, the offense played their role with a game-opening drive that stalled out on Miami’s 41-yard line. This continued a streak of first drive failures that goes back to 2007. Mike Scifres punted the ball and pinned Miami on their 5-yard line. Chad Pennington knew his role. In 16 plays the Dolphins rushed the ball 10 times and drove the ball down the field 94.5 yards while eating up 9:29 of game clock. Fortunately the Chargers’ defense caught a break. Pennington mishandled a handoff to Ronnie Brown on the 1-yard line fumbling the ball forward. Justin Smiley of the Dolphins apparently recovered the ball in the end zone, but it was ruled that during the recovery Smiley was simultaneously touching the back line of the end zone. This resulted in a touchback and turned the ball over to the Chargers. Philip Rivers, who threw for 436 yards last week against the Baltimore Ravens, continued to impress through the air by going on a streak of completing 6-6 for 73 yards promptly moving the ball down to the 8-yard line. However, like last week the Chargers offense routinely inside the red zone. Rivers threw two incomplete passes and the Chargers settled for a Nate Kaeding field goal, giving the Chargers a 3-0 lead. Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera did not wait until half time to make adjustments. For most of the remainder of the game the Chargers defense played remarkably well. Miami’s only score in the first half was a Dan Carpenter 24-yard field goal that was the direct result of a Rivers fumble when Joey Porter sacked him on the Chargers’ 27-yard line. Rivers drove the ball once again into the red zone for the Chargers’ only other possession of the first half. This time the drive froze on the 17-yard line. Kaeding attempted and missed a 41-yard field goal as time expired on the half and the score remained 3-3. To start the second half, Kevin Burnett hit Pennington on a 3rd and 7. Pennington was slow to get up and left the game with a bruised shoulder. Chad Henne came on at quarterback for the remainder of the game. With Henne the Dolphins reverted back to a running offense with some success. On his first possession, Henne completed some short passes between handoffs and he drove down to the Chargers’ 5-yard line. However, once again the Chargers’ defense held and the Dolphins settled for a Carpenter 23-yard field goal to take a 6-3 lead. On the first play of the Chargers’ ensuing possession Rivers threw deep to Malcolm Floyd for a 47-yard completion on the Miami 28-yard line. On the next play Rivers found Antonio Gates for an additional 19-yards and quickly the Chargers had a first and goal on the 9-yard line and were once again in the red zone. A 4-yard run by Darren Sproles and an incomplete pass by Rivers brought up 3rd and goal from the 5-yard line. As Rivers dropped back for a pass and found no open receivers, it looked as if the Chargers would have yet another red zone opportunity evaporate. Then, as the pocket collapsed around Rivers, a hole opened up and Rivers darted forward for only his second career-rushing touchdown giving the Chargers a 10-6 lead. Even with the touchdown, the Chargers’ troubles in the red zone were not cured. Three more times in the 4th quarter the Chargers had first and goal situations, none of which resulted in touchdowns. It was not until Eric Weddle intercepted Henne and returned the pass 31-yards for a touchdown that the Chargers’ victory appeared secure. The touchdown gave the Chargers a 23-6 lead with 5:31 to go in the game. The Chargers then went into the prevent defense. As expected, the Dolphins quickly capitalized on this and scored with a 14-yard Ricky Williams rushing touchdown with 2:51 to go bringing the score to 23-13. San Diego recovered the on-side kick effectively ending Miami’s threat. For now the Chargers have a winning a record of 2-1. This is despite that in the last two games the Chargers have scored only 1 touchdown in the last 9 times they have been in the red zone. Even with Sproles, this is a strong indication that ultimately the Chargers’ offense needs LaDainian Tomlinson to be back and healthy contributing on Sundays. However that may not happen until after the Chargers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers and after the bye week that follows. With or without Tomlinson, the Chargers will need to be more effective next week with their opportunities in the red zone. Despite the Steelers being just 1-2 they are still the defending Super Bowl Champions and the outcome of next week’s game could very well determine turf and climate if the two teams were to meet again in the playoffs. Player Notes: During the week, the Chargers acquired free agent defensive end Alfonso Boone, a nine-year veteran in an attempt to fill the void of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jamal Williams who suffered a tricep injury and was placed on Reserve-Injured. To make room on the 53-man squad for Boone, defensive end Andrew Coleman was replaced on the practice squad. Shawne Merriman missed most of the game against the Dolphins after injuring his groin in the 1st quarter. Depending on the extent of Merriman’s injury and whether Antwan Applewhite is healthy enough to play next Sunday, the Chargers may be forced to make a roster move during this upcoming week to add depth at the outside linebacker position.
 Dan McLellan About the author: Dan McLellan is a San Diego native and Charger season ticket holder since 1993. He also has a weekly Charger podcast at www.DanMcLellan.com. More by this author Subscribe to Sports:
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