San Diego Chargers

Chargers slip past Chiefs, 20-17

steve — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:45:23 +0000

The San Diego Chargers avoided disaster by holding on for dear life for a 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Everyone was expecting San Diego’s high-powered offense to come out and just pound the Chiefs into submission, but it didn’t happen.

Tight end Antonio Gates was de-activated right before the game, which possibly could have thrown the offense out of whack.

Ryan Mathews was one of the few bright spots, rushing for 98 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

Eric Weddle saved the day when he intercepted a pass to halt Kansas City’s potential game-tying or game-winning drive in the final minute.

Chargers looking to give franchise tag to Jackson

steve — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:14:53 +0000

The San Diego Chargers will likely slap the franchise tag on disgruntled wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

Jackson sat out much of the 2010 season to try to force the Chargers hand and earn a big extension.

The ploy did not work, and it caused Jackson to miss the first 10 games of the season without pay.

The wide receiver was excited about the prospect of becoming a free agent this offseason, but must be frustrated with the rumors.

He played well over the final third of the season, taking advantage of injuries to his fellow wideouts to put up big numbers.

Chargers hold off Broncos, 33-28

steve — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:29:33 +0000

The San Diego Chargers sprinted out to a big lead and then held on for a 33-28 win over the Denver Broncos.

The Chargers were up by 19 points late in the third quarter before they allowed Denver to make things interesting.

To be fair, the Chargers allowed the last score with just seconds to play, so the game was never really in doubt.

Rookie running back Ryan Matthews had a career day, rushing for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

It’s a decent way to end a terribly disappointing season for the Chargers, one of the biggest underachievers in the league.

Gates out final two games

steve — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:15:39 +0000

San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates will miss the final two regular season games with an injured right foot.

Gates said that he wants to get completely healthy and that it is the best thing for the Chargers.

The tight end has battled a number of foot injuries the past few years and struggled to be on the field on a consistent basis.

The Chargers are on the outside looking in at the playoffs, but they should win their final two games.

The team is hopeful that they can sneak in the playoffs and get a rested and healty Gates back on the field for the postseason.

Chargers roll past Broncos, 35-14

steve — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:44:10 +0000

The San Diego Chargers rebounded from a rocky start to cruise to a 35-14 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Denver rolled down the field on its first drive and scored a touchdown, making it look all too easy.

The Chargers did not seem concerned, and they promptly rolled off 35 unanswered points to dominate the game.

Quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 233 yards and four touchdowns despite the absence of tight end Antonio Gates.

The team will welcome wideout Vincent Jackson back next week, but will be without injured receiver Patrick Crayton.

Chargers hold off Texans, 29-23

steve — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:57:16 +0000

The visiting San Diego Chargers held on for a huge, 29-23 victory over the Houston Texans despite the absence of key players.

The Chargers were without all-world tight end Antonio Gates, but it doesn’t seem to matter who is missing from this offense.

Quarterback Phillip Rivers continued his strong season with 295 yards passing and four touchdowns.

Half of the guys he was throwing to hadn’t done a thing all season, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

Randy McMichael did his best Gates impression, catching two passes for 23 yards and two touchdowns.

Chargers rally past Titans, 33-25

steve — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:11:53 +0000

The San Diego Chargers finally put it all together, rallying past the Tennessee Titans for a 33-25 victory.

San Diego fell behind by double-digits in the first half but then tightened up defensively. It also helped that they knocked Vince Young out of the game.

Quarterback Phillip Rivers had another big day, throwing for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Rivers continues to play well despite missing a lot of his receiving weapons.

He did have tight end Antonio Gates at his service, and he racked up more than 120 yards and a touchdown.

Running backs Mike Tolbert, Ryan Matthews and Darren Sproles split carries and combined for more than 150 yards on the ground.

It will be interesting to see if the Chargers employ the same type of time share among their running backs in future games.

Chargers waive Merriman

steve — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:10:09 +0000

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman passed his physical, allowing the team to waive him.

Merriman will now go through waivers, allowing any interested team to claim him and pay his remaining salary for the rest of the year.

Because of Merriman’s big contract and lack of recent production, it’s likely he will become a free agent.

At that point, interested teams will then quickly make contract offers to bring him into their organization.

The Chargers were not happy with Merriman’s celebrity lifestyle, contract demands, and postive steroid test.

Chargers to cut Merriman

steve — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:21:15 +0000

The San Diego Chargers have announced plans to cut Shawne Merriman as soon as he is healthy enough to play.

Merriman has been a distraction for several months after trying to force the team to hand him a new contract.

The linebacker had a brilliant start to his NFL career before he was suspended for use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Since that time, Merriman has battled injuries and periods of ineffectiveness, missing a lot of action.

The team is in the process of ridding themselves of distractions and under achieving players, and Merriman appears to be one of the first to go.

Chargers fall to Raiders, 35-27

steve — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:43:01 +0000

The San Diego Chargers surrendered a big lead and couldn’t rally back in a 35-27 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Quarterback Phillip Rivers had another big game, but it was his fumble late in the game that proved to be the decisive play.

The fumble was recovered by Oakland and returned for a touchdown, forcing San Diego to try to quickly drive down the field for a potential tying score.

San Diego’s special teams have been a big problem so far this season, and the Raiders took advantage.

The Chargers gave up two blocked punts, one returned for a touchdown and another that resulted in a safety.