San Diego SportsChargers Struggle in Win Over the Raiders
San Diego 24, Oakland 20 A collective late night sigh of relief could be heard throughout San Diego as Darren Sproles rushed into the end zone giving Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers (1-0) a 24-20 come-from-behind victory over the Oakland Raiders (0-1) with 13 seconds to go in Monday Night Football. The victory extended the Chargers’ win streak over the Raiders to 12, and it kept Norv Turner’s hopes alive of getting the Chargers off to a quick start this year. However, the Chargers struggled against the Raiders, leavening many unanswered questions as to how good this Charger team really is. Early on it was clear what Oakland’s strategy was for pulling off an upset against the Bolts: keep the ball away from the Chargers’ high-powered offense and out of the hands of their inaccurate quarterback JaMarcus Russell by running the ball down the Chargers’ throat. A strategy that was initially highly effective. In Oakland’s opening possession they quickly moved the ball down to the Chargers 25-yard line on 4 rushes and 1 completed pass. Then Quentin Jammer intercepted a Russell pass on the 8-yard line and returned it up the sidelines for 21-yards. For the Chargers’ first possession, the play calling was unimaginative and ineffective. A short 2-yard run by LaDainian Tomlinson up the middle, followed by a short 4-yard pass to Vincent Jackson, and an incomplete pass quickly brought Mike Scifres on the field to punt. This continuing the trend of not being able to score a touchdown on the Chargers’ opening possession that ran the entirety of the ‘08 season. The Raiders quickly went back to their game plan. With apparent ease, Oakland’s offensive line was able create running lanes for Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. Russell handed the ball off on 8 of 10 plays. Bush capped an 84-yard, 6:13 drive with a 4-yard touchdown rush giving the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 3:13 to go in the first quarter. Sproles quickly showed why A.J. Smith kept him for at least this season as he returned the kickoff 66-yards providing the Chargers excellent starting field position on the Raiders 33-yard line. However, the Chargers were not able to capitalize on the opportunity. On Oakland’s 18-yard line, Tomlinson had an extremely rare lost fumble. Michael Huff recovered the ball for Oakland on their 9-yard line. The lost fumble was the first for Tomlinson in 993 touches ending a streak that went back to October 22, 2006 in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It appeared that Oakland was going to be able to continue rushing the ball relentlessly down the field. Then they had a 10-play, 6:19 drive end on a McFadden fumble, recovered by Stephen Cooper. This time the Chargers started possession on their 45-yard line and Rivers was able to convert the good field position into points. Rivers hit Antonio Gates for a 24-yard pass play and an apparent touchdown. However, Gates was ruled down on the 1-yard line. Turner elected not to challenge the ruling on the field and on the next play Tomlinson ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown evening the score to 7-7 with 4:45 to go in the half. Oakland and San Diego then traded two quick, three-and-out possessions. With 0:45 to go in the half it appeared that Oakland would take a 14-7 lead into the locker-room when Russell threw what looked like a 19-yard pass to Louis Murphy in the end zone, giving the rookie his first NFL touchdown. Fortunately for the Chargers, the officials reviewed the play and it was ruled an incomplete pass because Murphy lost control of the ball when he went to the ground. The Raiders were then forced to settle for a 37-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal. Giving the Raiders a 10-7 lead with 0:40 seconds to go in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Sproles had a huge 59-yard return to the Raiders 41-yard line with 0:24 remaining. With the help of some impressive acrobatic-like catches by Legedu Naanee, Rivers was able to get the Chargers down to the 29-yard line and Nate Kadeing kicked a 37-yard field goal. The Chargers now had an extremely fortunate 10-10 halftime tie with the Raiders. The Chargers started the 3rd quarter with possession but had the drive stall out on the Raiders 41-yard line when Huff got his second turnover of the night intercepting a pass that tipped off Gates’ fingers. The Chargers defense made some major adjustments at the half and was extremely effective at shutting Oakland down as they failed to get a first down in their first three possessions of the second half. Unfortunately, San Diego was unable to do much on offense themselves. Russell then led Oakland on a well run 7-play, 51-yard drive resulting in a Janikowski 35-yard field goal. Giving the Raiders a 13-10 lead with 13:01 to go in the 4th quarter. Finally the Chargers’ high-powered offense began to perform as previously promised. Rivers answered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a fine 15-yard touchdown catch by Jackson in the front corner of the end zone. This provided the Chargers with their first lead of the night of 17-13 with 7:22 to go in the game. Momentarily it appeared that would be enough to give the Chargers the victory as Oakland was faced with a 4th and 14 from their 43-yard line. Then Clinton Hart blew his coverage on Murphy allowing Russell to complete a 57-yard over the middle pass. Murphy had his first NFL touchdown and the Raiders a 20-17 with 2:30 to go in the game. Sproles was only able to return the kickoff to the 11-yard line. Rivers and the Chargers now had a long field to work with and only 2:23 of game clock remaining. Sproles more than made up for his poor return. The final drive saw Sproles in on running back because Tomlinson had twisted his ankle. Sproles converted two first downs on the drive with 15-yard and 9-yard receptions. Rivers found Gates for 13-yards and the Chargers had a first and goal on Oakland’s 10-yard line with 0:46 to go. Sproles then ran it twice, each time for 5-yards and scoring the game winning touchdown with just 0:18 left in the game. Antoine Cason sealed the Chargers’ victory by intercepting a ‘Hail Mary’ pass from Russell and wisely falling down to secure the ball. This win does not yet demonstrate the much talked about quick start for Norv Turner. Turner won his first game as a Chargers head coach against the then defending NFC Champions Chicago Bears to start the 2007 campaign. The Chargers then lost their next three. Eventually they corrected the ship and reached the AFC Championship game. Last season the Chargers lost their first two games on last possession drives and were fortunate to make the playoffs at 8-8. Nowa last-possession victory over the Raiders provideTurner the opportunity to get the Chargers off to a fast start. If they are to achieve that goal, next week the Chargerswill have to start much greater momentum and play all-around better football in their home opener against a very good Baltimore Ravens team. Player Notes: Prior to the game the Chargers waived fourth round draft pick running back Gartrell Johnson and signed defensive end Andre Coleman from the practice squad to the active roster where he had spent the entire ‘07 and ‘08 seasons. If Johnson clears waivers, he will likely be resigned to the Chargers practice squad.
 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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