San Diego SportsChargers Dominate in Win, But Still Need Improvements
Charges Beat Chiefs 37-7 “It is always good to go into Kansas City and get a win,” said San Diego Chargers (3-3) quarterback Philip Rivers following the Chargers’ impressive 37-7 victory over their division rivals the Kansas City Chiefs (1-5). It was the first time since 1981 that the Chargers have won three in a row on the Chiefs home field. It was also a victory the team desperately needed. Following Monday’s night loss to the Denver Broncos (6-0), many San Diego Chargers fans became united in their frustrations and were calling for the firing of Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith and Head Coach Norv Turner. On Sunday, Rivers once again had a hot hand as he was 18 for 30 for 268 yards and three touchdowns. However according to the AP Rivers commented, “It was a game we could have scored 50-something.” With this statement Rivers took ownership in the offense and admitted that even in the blowout victory they could have done better. Rivers also praised his teammates by exclaiming, “I think the defense and special teams were outstanding!” A large reason why the Chargers should have scored more is that for most of the day the Chargers defense did a great job of shutting down the Chiefs offense thus giving Rivers opportunities. Matt Cassel was only 10 for 25 for 97 yards. In the process Cassel threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. The Chargers defense was also stingy against the run allowing Larry Johnson to rush for only 49 yards on 16 carries. Standouts on the defensive performance include Shaun Phillips who recorded his first two sacks of the year and Tim Dobbins who played in place of an injured Kevin Burnett. Dobbins led the defensive effort with 11 tackles and an interception. On the other side of the ball, the Chargers offense did a lot of things right in scoring 30 points. For the first time all season they offered a balanced attack as the running game racked up 135 yards on the ground. An apparently healthy LaDainian Tomlinson led the ground assault running 23 times for 71 yards including a 36-yard run to give the Chargers offense its initial spark. Darren Sproles also carried the ball 5 times for 41 yards. Even with the improved running game, the Chargers left many points on the field and in the process continued to struggle in the same areas that they have struggled with all season. The most glaring inefficiency is their inability to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Statistically the Chargers were ranked 29th overall in the red zone coming into the game. The Chargers offense started in routine fashion received the opening kickoff and then failed to convert a first down. This marked the 21st game in a row that they have been unable to score a touchdown on their opening possession. Then, as usual, the Chargers came alive for their second possession. On the strength of Tomlinson rushing the ball and an uncharacteristic 11-yard scamper by Rivers, San Diego quickly found themselves 1st and goal inside the five. On 3rd and goal from the 3-yard line, Rivers found a wide-open Malcolm Floyd to give the Chargers an early 7-0 lead. The Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley elected to gamble in their ensuing possession. Haley called a quarterback sneak on 4th and 1 from their own 41-yard line. The Chargers defense held giving Rivers the ball with great field position. Eight plays later and with playground-style improvisation, Rivers rolled out and completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson extending the Chargers lead to 14-0. On the Chargers next possession their red zone frustrations resurfaced. Tomlinson received a handoff three times from the Chiefs 2-yard line or closer and was unable to reach the end zone. The first attempt was on 1st and goal from the 2 when Tomlinson rushed for no gain. Then on 2nd down the Chiefs were called for pass interference against Antonio Gates in the end zone setting up a 1st and goal from the 1-yard line. Tomlinson then failed to get a touchdown on two more consecutive runs. With an incomplete pass on 3rd down the Chargers had yet another red zone failure. Nate Kaeding who had been suffering from stomach flu kicked a 20-yard field goal giving the Chargers a 17-0 lead. On the Chargers, next possession Kaeding who was too weak due to illness missed a 43-yard field goal. Ryan Succop then returned the favor by missing his own 43-yard attempt for Kansas City. This gave the ball back to the Chargers with 1:07 to go in the half on their 33-yard line. Sproles missing a shoe broke off a 21-yard run putting San Diego in Kansas City territory. Rivers then hit Jackson for 18 yards and the Chargers were on the 21 with 0:11 to go. With time running out Rivers found Jackson again in the end zone, but Jackson was ruled out of bounds and the Chargers settled for another Kaeding field goal taking a 20-0 lead into the half. At the half Jackson had 5 receptions, a touchdown, and franchise high 146 yards of receiving for the first half. Kansas City briefly made the game interesting by getting their own touchdown in their first possession of the second half. This came courtesy of a spectacular catch by Dwayne Bowe in the corner of the end zone bringing the score to 20-7. Sproles then answered the Chiefs’ threat by converting a short screen pass into a 58-yard touchdown. The score was now 27-7. Dobbins then intercepted a Cassel pass that had bounced off a receiver giving the ball to the Chargers at near midfield and giving Cassel his first interception in 152 throws. However, the Chargers were not able to do anything with the turnover and Mike Scifres punted the ball away. Two passes later Cassel was intercepted again, this time by Paul Oliver who returned the ball all the way down to the 2-yard line. On the next play it appeared that Tomlinson had a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately, Brandyn Dombrowski lined up as a tight end and failed to report as an illegible receiver. This resulted in 5-yard penalty and erased Tomlinson’s touchdown. Tomlinson would then run the ball on the next four consecutive plays and the Chargers turned the ball over on downs inside the 1-yard line for another red zone disaster. Then, for the third possession in a row, Cassel threw an interception. This time Steve Gregory got the pick and once again the Chargers started in Kansas City territory. On this drive the Chargers made it to the 1-yard and failed to convert, settling for yet another short Kaeding field goal bringing the score to 30-7. Jacob Hester then finished the scoring by blocking a Dustin Colquitt punt and recovering in the end zone for his second touchdown of the year. With the win over Kansas City, the war cries for Smith and Turner’s heads will dissipate for at least a week. However, for those cries to remain at bay the Chargers will need to continue to win. To do that they must take to heart of Turner’s own accurate post-game assessment of his offense, defense and special teams: “We still have a lot of work to do in all three phases.”
 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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