Chargers halfway to playoff berth
A season was at stake Sunday.
Of that, the Chargers were persistently reminded.
After their opening kickoff, the final score in New York, 19-0 Bills over Dolphins, flashed on the video scoreboard. Fans cheered.
When the Chargers reached the red zone, a second alert showed a first-quarter touchdown run in Maryland. Patriots led 7-0. Again, fans cheered.
Eventually, the outcome in San Diego would be celebrated, too.
A slow start built a tension within Qualcomm Stadium, as the uncontrollable went in the Chargers' favor and the result they could control went awry. That eased when the mistake-prone Raiders were held to 7 yards of third-quarter offense, and the Chargers began a run of four scores on consecutive possessions in a 26-13 win.
A Dolphins win would've eliminated San Diego from playoff contention. They lost.
A Ravens win would've eliminated San Diego from playoff contention. They lost.
The Chargers had to win for both to matter. They did with the final weekend of the NFL regular season coming Sunday.
“You'd like to say, 'Keep your head down,' and you're not looking,” outside linebacker Jarret Johnson said of the stadium scoreboard. “But it's only natural — they're flashing the scores all the time. We're looking up there. You're really only looking for two games. Today was a big day for us.
“Didn't get any help last week. Got some help this week. We're still alive.”
Despite the start.
Quarterback Philip Rivers was looking right, making a change to the protection, and out came a shotgun snap from center Nick Hardwick. That lost fumble was the first of three Chargers turnovers in the first half, leading to all of Oakland's points in a 10-10 tie at the break.
Of the the team's 20 turnovers this year, eight have come against the Raiders.
Things settled down in a third quarter that saw San Diego on the field for 12 minutes and 6 seconds.
No comments:
Post a Comment