The San Diego Chargers beat the Houston Texans 21-13. The game was one that presented two stout defenses that love to take away the run. It showed as both feature backs, Melvin Gordon and Lamar Miller, struggled to gain any traction on the ground. The biggest difference was the play of the quarterbacks. The magic number was three for both guys as Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns and Brock Osweiler threw three interceptions.
Rivers mainly targeted Dontrelle Inman and Tyrell Williams against a very lackluster Texans secondary. Inman is a route tactician and it showed Sunday as he looked like a smooth operator roaming through the secondary. He and Williams combined for 14 catches 189 yards and two touchdowns. Rivers also hit Hunter Henry for a late touchdown to seal the deal. Henry leads all rookie tight ends with five touchdowns. The development of the Chargers young pass catchers bodes well for them heading into the final stretch of the season. Remember, San Diego is without Danny Woodhead, Keenan Allen, and Stevie Johnson.
This Chargers defense deserves some love as one of the better young units across the league. This defense continues to create turnovers as they caused four against Houston. Casey Hayward made a tremendous interception while having the awareness to keep his feet in bounds. Rivers said, “Casey has such a knack for the football and he’s a smart player.” Hayward is leading the league with six picks. Dexter McCoil and Dwight Lowery joined the party as they made interceptions too. Lowery also created a fumble that was picked up by Trevor Williams.
The secondary had a great day as they generated all of the turnovers. Lowery highlighted the fact that this group is really close and plays for one another. Even with injuries this bunch continues to show up in big ways.
Joey Bosa had another tremendous game as he and Damion Square teamed up for a sack on Osweiler. Also, he had a few tackles for losses as well as two quarterback hits. When he is getting to the quarterback, he changes the game for the Chargers.
The bye week certainly helped the Bolts regain focus with a key stretch of games on the horizon. They probably need to go undefeated to even have a shot at a postseason berth. The good news is this team is getting players back. Jahleel Addae and Denzel Perryman provided a spark for the defense. Rivers thinks the team is poised for a run and with his success in December and January this team has a shot.
The Chargers return home next week to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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