The Chargers showed up! This did not look like the same team that played the Ravens two weeks ago. They came out energized and thirsty. Here are the things that shocked me.
The defensive line was dominant. The 2017 Melvin Ingram showed up. He was all over the place. The line sacked Lamar Jackson seven times and had him scrambling all day. On top of that, they forced two fumbles, one which sealed the victory. MVP of the game: D line.
Big Surprise: They filled Jatavis Brown’s spot with Jahleel Addae. You know your linebacker depth is thin when you start filling their spots with safeties. It was nice to see Rayshawn Jenkins in the free safety spot. A change that I hope stays.
Positives:
- Desmond King’s return game was huge on a day when the offense was going against one of the top defenses in the league.
- Adrian Phillips was in the right place at the right time. He recovered a fumbled and hauled in an interception.
- Gates is still getting it done. How nifty was that one handed grab? The old-timer showed up in several clutch moments.
- The elusiveness of Phillips Rivers. The defense forgot to account for him on several key runs. How can you not game plan for his rushing attack?
Negatives:
- Two blocked kicks. Just when you think everything is okay with the special teams unit stuff like this happens.
- No targets for Mike Williams in the red zone. Williams has been the go to man in the red zone in the second half of the season. On Sunday, the Chargers chose to pound the ball and kick field goals instead of going to the big receiver.
Then there were those times when you were either screaming at the TV or thinking this game is not good for my heart.
The freak out moments:
- The Watt ‘tuck and roll’ touchdown. I still don’t know how that wasn’t a touchdown.
- The Gordon ‘fumble’ on the one-yard line. That had the potential of a total momentum shift.
- The Green fumble. Hold on to the ball big fella!
- The BS holding call on Okung. So bad Okung was spinning a Roger Goodell conspiracy theory after the game.
With the game on the line the Chargers delivered.
The Clutch moments:
- Facing a 3rd and 16 with 1:41 on the clock, Rivers makes a 9 yard completion to Gates. A huge gamble to put the ball in the air, but the hall-of-famers made it happen.
- The speed rush of Uchenna Nwosu and his bit mitt poking the ball loose with 28 seconds to seal the victory for the Chargers.
Even after this big win. This looks like a team that is still thirsty. Any Squad. Any Place.
from Bolts From The Blue - All Posts http://bit.ly/2Fkg8sC
No comments:
Post a Comment