The San Diego Chargers lost a heartbreaker to the Indianapolis Colts 26-22. This was one of those ugly grind it out games as each quarterback did not play up to their elite caliber. Both defenses played with pride and passion in a game that lacked a bit of energy even from the Colts faithful. The Chargers lacked discipline as they committed five penalties, which resulted in first downs. Philip Rivers had an uncharacteristic game as he missed open receivers or threw the ball late in coverage that caused San Diego to leave points on the field. Failure to stop speedster TY Hilton on 4th and 7 and a missed PAT by Josh Lambo also contributed to a loss. To top it off, the Bolts saw their final two drives end with two fumbles that could have helped secure a win over a desperate Colts team.
Rivers was held without a touchdown in the contest as he threw for 330 yards. He was under duress on almost every pass attempt and it showed in his throws as he missed big play or scoring opportunities with Melvin Gordon and Tyrell Williams. Rivers had a 39.1 quarterback rating and failed to get his team points in three out of four red zone trips. Gordon found the end zone again for a third straight week and showed he could catch as he caught four passes. The Chargers strayed away from their normal game plan as Gordon only had 17 rush attempts to Rivers 39 pass attempts. With no Danny Woodhead or Keenan Allen, Gordon is our best player on offense outside of Rivers and needs the ball. Ken Whisenhunt has to get back to the run oriented offense with an emphasis on controlling the clock. Travis Benjamin and Williams came back down to earth as they still had good production, but failed to find the end zone. Rookie Hunter Henry filled in nicely for Antonio Gates, but he fumbled with 1:11 to go as the Chargers were looking to take the lead.
John Pagano and his defensive unit played as well as anyone could expect against his brother Chuck Pagano of the Colts. They got pressure on a lot of Andrew Luck’s drop backs, but they failed to get him down numerous times. Rookie Jatavis Brown helped sack Luck and forced a fumble, which led to Carraun Reid streaking down the sideline for 6 just before the half. Casey “Showcase” Hayward got his third interception this season as he jumped a route to help give San Diego some early momentum. The team struggled stuffing the run as Frank Gore and Robert Turbin found the end zone. The loss of Manti Te’o showed as the defense looked out of sync in the second half.
Through three games, the Chargers have no reason to panic as they have been in a position to win games. After the game Mike McCoy said, “You have to put teams away when you have opportunities to do it or make the plays earlier in the game.” This is something the team has failed to do in their losses to Kansas City and Indianapolis. They have to learn to finish, stop committing penalties, and play good football on offense, defense, AND special teams. The defense continues to make plays and the Chargers newcomers continue to make an impact.
San Diego looks to do it all again Sunday at home as they face a familiar foe in Drew Brees and he New Orleans Saints.
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