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FeedChargers Grind It Out
A dominating fourth quarter downs Raider Nation and their coach
Six rushes. Twelve yards. That’s all that Darren Sproles did Sunday against the Raiders as far as running the ball. But once again, the Chargers have the smallest player in the league to thank for a hard-fought win. The little man came up big (see the 4:01 mark).
After the Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 32-yard field goal with 2:47 to tie the game, Sproles returned the ensuing kickoff to the Oakland 35-yard line to set up Nate Kaeding’s go-ahead field goal in the Chargers' 28-18 win. Plays like that prove why Sproles is so valuable to this San Diego team. His ability to get big yards any time he touches the rock means he will keep them in every game.
This was a big win for the Bolts. It’s never easy to go and play in “The Black Hole” in Oakland. And granted, San Diego didn’t play their best ball. Through three quarters, they were down 15-3. But a 25-point explosion in the final stanza sealed the Raiders’, and ultimately head coach Lane Kiffin’s fate.
LaDainian Tomlinson is finally starting to look like the back everyone expected to see when they drafted him No. 1 in fantasy leagues. Rivers was solid, despite throwing two picks. His poise in the fourth quarter was key.
The defense played great in the second half, limiting Oakland to only three points and forcing two turnovers. As Rivers said after the game, “We just kept fighting. It wasn't our prettiest win, but our defense gave us a chance. There was no panic."
And after the first two weeks, when it seemed the Chargers just couldn’t catch a break, it’s nice to see them back to .500, and only one game behind Denver in the West.
Eric Yates, much like the rest of the city, isn’t a native San Diegan. He’s been here for the past eight years and has adopted the Padres and Chargers as his own. Serving as a full-time and freelance sportswriter while in San Diego, he’s covered the beat for both the Padres and Chargers. A sports fanatic, his crowning achievement as a fan was appearing on the ESPN game show Stump the Schwab and coming within one question of toppling the big guy.
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