Rivers and the football gods lead San
Diego past Chiefs 22-21
The San Diego Chargers got lucky. Even better, they’ve got
Philip Rivers.
After their onside kick bounced off Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe’s chest and
Kassim Osgood recovered for San Diego, Rivers needed just four plays Sunday to
complete one of the most stirring comebacks of the season.
With 1:13 left, Rivers hit Malcom Floyd with a 4-yard TD pass. Then his
10-yarder to Vincent Jackson with 36 seconds to go lifted the Chargers to a
22-21 victory over the stunned Chiefs, who led 21-3 in the third quarter.
“We never stopped believing,” said Chargers tackle Marcus McNeill. “I think (the
Chiefs) thought they had the game won when the clock was low in the fourth
quarter. But we knew if we got another chance that we were going to go down
there and score.”
After their try for a two-point conversion failed, the Chargers (6-8) still
needed help from the football gods. Aided by a delay-of-game penalty, the Chiefs
(2-12) tried a 50-yard field goal on the final play. Connor Barth, who had been
nine-for-nine before missing a 34-yarder in the first half, was wide left...
Video Recap: The Chargers
scored 19 unanswered points to defeat the Chiefs 22-21 and keep their slim
playoff hopes alive. Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots recap all the action from
Arrowhead Stadium
Larry Johnson passed to Tony Gonzalez to the right for 4
yard gain (Connor Barth made PAT)
0 - 7
2nd Quarter
2:53
KC
TD
Tyler Thigpen passed to Dwayne Bowe to the right for 1
yard gain (Connor Barth made PAT)
0 - 14
0:11
SD
FG
Nate Kaeding kicked a 32-yard field goal
3 - 14
3rd Quarter
12:35
KC
TD
Tyler Thigpen rushed up the middle for 3 yard gain
(Connor Barth made PAT)
3 - 21
8:29
SD
TD
LaDainian Tomlinson rushed up the middle for 6 yard gain
(Nate Kaeding made PAT)
10 - 21
4th Quarter
1:13
SD
TD
Philip Rivers passed to Malcom Floyd down the middle for
4 yard gain (2pt attempt failed, Philip Rivers pass to Chris Chambers)
16 - 21
0:36
SD
TD
Philip Rivers passed to Vincent Jackson down the middle
for 10 yard gain (2pt attempt failed, Philip Rivers pass to Antonio
Gates)
22 - 21
Team Statistics
SD
KC
First Downs
22
21
Passing
16
12
Rushing
5
7
Penalty
1
2
Third Down Efficiency
4-13
5-11
Fourth Down Efficiency
1-2
1-1
TOTAL NET YARDS
394
277
Total Plays
70
60
Average Gain Per Play
5.6
4.6
NET YARDS RUSHING
68
102
Rushes
19
31
Average Per Rush
3.6
3.3
NET YARDS PASSING
326
175
Completions-Attempts
34-48
20-29
Yards Per Pass Play
6.4
6.0
Times Sacked
3
0
Yards Lost to Sacks
20
0
Had Intercepted
1
1
PUNTS
4
5
Average Punt
36.0
36.4
PENALTIES
10
4
Penalty Yards
83
30
FUMBLES
4
1
Fumbles Lost
2
1
TIME OF POSSESSION
27:49
32:11
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
New Page 1
Preview:
There's no margin for
error as the San Diego Chargers
try to keep their playoff hopes
alive. Against the Kansas City
Chiefs, though, they can
probably afford a few mistakes
and still come out on top.
Needing to win out and get help
to make the postseason, the
Chargers look to take advantage
of a lowly-but-opportunistic
Chiefs team Sunday as the AFC
West rivals wrap up their season
series. San Diego (5-8) needs to
win its last three games and
have Denver lose its final three
to make the playoffs...
Prediction:
The home team has won 18 of the past 25
games in this series, with Kansas City 10-3 against the Chargers dating back to
1995. The Chiefs have beaten San Diego nine times in the past 11 games at
Arrowhead Stadium this game is worth a look as a money line pick if the
odds are good enough Chiefs 27 - Chargers 24
Video Preview: The San Diego
Chargers still have some hope of making the playoffs and they must beat the
Kansas City Chiefs to keep that dream alive. Charley Casserly and Jason Horowitz
break down the game
12.9
20.2