Week 8 Game Recap: St. Louis Rams 24, San Diego Chargers 38

What you need to know

St. Louis Rams

QB Marc Bulger managed to salvage a modest game by posting huge stats during garbage time. He demonstrated that the score and result of the game are not necessarily key to his fantasy success, and he enjoyed another productive game.

RB Steven Jackson was outstanding, albeit somewhat quietly. He didn’t rip off any huge gains, with his longest run going for just 12 yards. But he consistently moved the pile, and ran hard from beginning to end.

WR Isaac Bruce didn’t catch a single pass in the first half, then went out and hauled in five for 105 yards in the second half. In the process, he passed former Redskins WR Art Monk for tenth place on the all time receiving yards list.

San Diego Chargers

The biggest difference in the San Diego victory was the fact that the Chargers have LaDainian Tomlinson, and the Rams do not. Tomlinson did it all, he scored from close range, he broke a long one, he caught a touchdown pass, and even recovered an onside kick. In doing all that, he became the second-fastest player in league history to reach 90 touchdowns (86 games), tying him with Emmitt Smith.

QB Philip Rivers enjoyed yet another outstanding game, protecting the football at all times and making some electric throws when the situation dictated he do so. He displayed outstanding arm strength, and precision on several sideline routes.

LB Shawne Merriman played like this might be his last game for awhile. And, if he chooses to drop his appeal for a four game steroid ban that would be precisely what would happen. Merriman was all over the field, tying his career high with three sacks and generally disrupting the entire Rams’ offense all game long.

What you ought to know

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 27 - 40 - 327 - 2 TD / 0 INT

With 12 minutes left in the game, Marc Bulger had thrown for just 202 yards and zero touchdowns. Over the final twelve minutes of garbage time, with the Rams trailing 31-10 and then 38-17, Bulger proceeded to march two separate scoring drives downfield for a total of 125 yards and two touchdown passes. He didn’t look bad in the earlier stages of the game, but by no means was he lighting up the stat sheet. The San Diego defense largely held the Rams’ potent passing game in check for the most part, and Bulger was under a good amount of pressure. He was consistently just missing the deep balls to his wide receivers, and they couldn’t sustain very many drives down the field. Late in the contest, when San Diego’s lead ballooned, the Chargers’ defense relented quite a bit and Bulger was allowed much more room to operate. Fortunately for his fantasy owners, he was able to take advantage of this newfound freedom. Not only did Bulger salvage his fantasy game, he actually ended up excelling on the stat sheet. WR Torry Holt saved Bulger from his only two near interceptions of the game. On a sideline route intended for Holt, San Diego CB Quentin Jammer got his hands on the football as the defender and receiver fell to the turf. Holt managed to maintain his grip on the ball and wrestle it away from Jammer, resulting in the Rams maintaining possession. Later, Holt broke up a deep pass down the sideline that CB Antonio Cromartie appeared to be ready to pick off.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 18 - 84 - 1, Rec: 3 - 55 - 0 (5 targets)

Jackson enjoyed a very solid game stat-wise and put up his usual stellar numbers. Despite only 18 carries, Jackson rewarded fantasy owners by finding the end zone early in the game and remaining a focal point of the offense despite a large deficit late. In fact, 27 of Jackson’s 55 receiving yards came on the game’s late garbage time touchdown drive. Jackson’s stats could have actually been much better, as he was given a second and goal carry from the one yard line late in the fourth quarter. Jackson was stuffed, however, and Kevin Curtis caught a touchdown two plays later. Jackson fought hard for every last yard, breaking tackles well into the fourth quarter and appearing to get stronger as the game went on. About the only negative on Jackson’s game was a crucial drop on a third down and two pass late in the third quarter. The Rams trailed by 14 at the time, but San Diego scored on its ensuing possession and never looked back.

RB Stephen Davis, Rush: 2 - 18 - 0

Davis had a nice 14 yard scamper up the gut on his first carry of the game on a third and one situation. His second run did not turn out quite as beneficial, as he coughed up the football with the Rams trailing 14-7 and driving downfield for the potential game-tying score. The fumble occurred in San Diego territory and was returned 79 yards by Marlon McCree for a touchdown. Davis did not record another carry after the fumble.

WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 7 - 79 - 1 (8 targets)

Curtis was targeted early and often, including a first quarter fourth down pass attempt that the receiver converted. It’s clear that Bulger has just as much faith in Curtis making plays as just about anyone else on the field, and that was evident in him getting the looks in several key situations. His targets were spread out fairly evenly throughout the game, and even though he scored his touchdown during “garbage time”, he actually was putting up solid stats prior to that. About his only blemish was his inability to hang onto what would have been a 40 yard pass from Marc Bulger to about the San Diego ten yard line. Curtis dove for the ball and appeared to haul it in, but upon hitting the turf the football came loose for an incompletion. The Rams challenged the call, but the ruling was still no catch.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 5 - 105 - 0 (8 targets)

After failing to record a single catch in the first half, Bruce lit up the stat sheet in the second. He was close to hauling in a couple of different deep passes from Marc Bulger early on, but couldn’t quite connect. As the game went on, those passes found their way to him with much more frequency. He also drew a long pass interference penalty in the end zone on Bhawoh Jue that led to another touchdown. En route to his 105 yard effort, Bruce passed Art Monk for tenth place on the all time receiving yardage list and now stands at 12,771 career yards.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 5 - 48 - 0 (9 targets)

At times, the Chargers appeared to put as many people on Holt as humanly possible. On one play in particular, Holt caught a short screen and was about to turn upfield when he was hog-tied by LB Shawne Merriman. Holt never really had an opportunity to make a huge play, and all of the attention that was paid to him goes a long way towards explaining why Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald caught touchdowns, and why Isaac Bruce had 105 yards in the second half alone.

WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 1 - 7 - 1 (1 targets)

McDonald made his only target count, hauling in a seven yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter as the Rams played catch-up.

TE Joe Klopfenstein, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets)

Klopfenstein was thrown to just twice, one of which was a fade pattern in the end zone from the one yard line late in the fourth quarter. The pass was obviously incomplete.

PK Jeff Wilkins 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points

Wilkins connected from 34 yards out midway through the third quarter, but did not attempt another field goal the rest of the game. The Rams passed up trying a 49 yarder early in the second quarter to go for it on fourth down. Saint Louis converted the fourth down pass, and the drive led to an eventual Steven Jackson touchdown and just an extra point for Wilkins.

STL Rush Defense

Here’s a case of the stats really telling the whole story. The Chargers gained 216 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Saint Louis, and yes it really was that bad. Aside from Will Witherspoon, very few defensive players on the Rams unit stood out and looked any good. There were numerous arm tackles that never were finished, moves put on defenders who were left grasping at air, and an inability to lay a hit on someone and make it stick. The combination of Tomlinson and Michael Turner ran wild over Saint Louis, and were the biggest difference in the outcome of this game.

STL Pass Defense

Whenever Saint Louis’ defensive backs needed to come up with a big stop, they failed to. It seemed as if there was always someone open for the Chargers. And yet only five Chargers even caught a pass in the game, so it’s not as if Philip Rivers was whipping the ball all over the field to a different receiver on every play. San Diego only threw the ball 23 times, but they threw it extremely effectively for nearly nine yards per pass attempt. DB Fakhir Brown made an excellent tackle on WR Eric Parker, wrapping him up nicely on a fourth down pass attempt, and Will Witherspoon made a number of nice tackles in the open field, but even Witherspoon found himself beaten down the right sideline for a long touchdown pass to LaDainian Tomlinson. Additionally, whatever plays were good were isolated and far too rare for the Rams to have any chance of really stopping the Chargers in this one.

QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 15 - 23 - 206 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 4 - 0

Rivers didn’t put up huge stats, but it wasn’t because of anything he did wrong and it wasn’t because Marty Schottenheimer held him back. Rivers simply wasn’t needed as much because LaDainian Tomlinson pretty much took over the game from the start and didn’t let up. When he was asked to make plays, Rivers looked excellent. He displayed terrific arm strength that was on full display during two first quarter completions to Eric Parker and then Antonio Gates. He also showed nice mobility later on to avoid the oncoming rush and buy some more time for the receivers downfield. About his only big mistake was a fade pattern intended for Gates in the third quarter. Rivers put almost no touch on the pass, and it sailed well over the head of the TE for an incompletion out of the end zone. But if that’s the worst thing you can say about his game, it’s no wonder why San Diego won by 14 points against a quality team.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 25 - 183 - 2, Rec: 3 - 57 - 1 (3 targets)

Tomlinson showed why he is usually considered the best running back in football. He rolled for a season high 183 rushing yards, and added another 57 through the air. After last week’s four touchdown performance, he found the end zone three more times in this game and looked great in doing so. His second touchdown was a 38 yard burst up the right side where he was untouched after a few early broken tackles. It was a perfect example of his strength and speed combination. The touchdown also gave him 90 for his career, tying him with Emmitt Smith as the second-fastest in league history to reach the 90 TD mark (only Jim Brown did it quicker). Tomlinson later beat LB Will Witherspoon down the sideline for his third touchdown of the game, a score that really put the game out of reach. The 100 yard effort from Tomlinson was his second 100 yard game of 2006 and the thirtieth of his career.

RB Michael Turner, Rush: 5 - 28 - 1

Turner got just five carries, but to no one’s surprise he once again averaged nearly six yards per carry and once again found the end zone. As the announcers remarked, Turner is not simply a backup or a garbage time back to Tomlinson. He is an integral part of the offense and has a clear role with the team, and once again he proved that in this game.

WR Eric Parker, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 4 - 56 - 0 (7 targets)

Parker appears settled into his role as the team’s de facto number one receiver. The reason he isn’t a true number one receiver is because of the presence of RB LaDainian Tomlinson and TE Antonio Gates, who are clearly the top two options in the passing game. But still, Parker seems to be developing a nice rapport with QB Philip Rivers. Parker led the wide receivers in targets, and was looked to in several key spots during the game. He did have a costly drop of a potential 15-20 yard pass, but it was more a case of trying to do too much than anything (tried running before catching the ball).

WR Keenan McCardell, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (2 targets)

McCardell has seen his stats drop off significantly, and this game was no exception. The Chargers didn’t throw the ball often, but even when they did there was little more than scraps left over for the veteran McCardell. He did catch both passes in his direction, but he didn’t see a pass head his way in the entire second half.

TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 5 - 66 - 0 (8 targets)

Gates began on fire, and seemed to be on his way to a monster game. While his final stats were solid, they aren’t indicative of the way he opened up (43 yards on the Chargers’ first two possessions). He nearly scored on San Diego’s opening drive, hauling in a 27 yard pass from Rivers but was tackled just short of the goal line at the two. LaDainian Tomlinson scored on the next play. Gates showed great hands on the reception, hauling in an absolute laser from Philip Rivers on a slant before dragging several defenders along the way. That same quick slant netted 11 more yards on a second quarter pass play, but Gates was quiet after that. He was thrown to in the end zone late in the third quarter, but Rivers didn’t put quite enough touch on the pass and it sailed far over Gates’ head for an incomplete pass.

PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points

Kaeding connected on his only field goal attempt of the game, a 31 yarder late in the third quarter that put San Diego up 24-10.

SD Rush Defense

The turning point in this game came courtesy of the San Diego rush defense. With the Rams trailing 14-7 and driving for the potential game tying score, DL Jacques Cesaire forced a fumble on RB Stephen Davis, who was carrying for just the second time in the game. S Marlon McCree quickly pounced on the football but soon realized he hadn’t been touched. Upon getting to his feet, McCree scampered 79 yards downfield behind a wall of blockers. The score put the Chargers up 21-7, and the Rams never got that close again. The Chargers were fortunate that this game didn’t remain close, because Steven Jackson was proving all game long that he could run on this team. The Chargers have now had trouble slowing the opposition’s run game down for the past two weeks, and for the second week in a row it was a power back that was doing the damage. Several times, Jackson was able to rumble over San Diego defenders for a few extra yards. And often, San Diego defenders got an arm or even two on Jackson only to see him push them aside with ease. His touchdown run was the perfect example of this, as the Chargers appeared to have him stuffed short, only to have Jackson give a huge second effort and reach out across the goal line for the score. The Chargers allowed over 100 yards rushing on just 21 total carries, and it likely could have been worse if the Rams hadn’t been forced to abandon the running game by the fourth quarter.

SD Pass Defense

LB Shawne Merriman, who faces an upcoming four game suspension for testing positive for steroids, played outstandingly. He tied a career high with three sacks, and his emotion rubbed off on his teammates. It is obvious that San Diego will be a far different defense if/when he drops his appeal and serves the suspension. Aside from the Merriman story, the Chargers held Marc Bulger to just 202 yards and zero touchdowns until early in the fourth quarter. With the team up 31-10, HC Marty Schottenheimer relaxed the defense a bit and the Rams were able to capitalize with two separate touchdown drives. So while it would appear on the stat sheet that Bulger had a monster game, a lot of that had to do with the situation of the game and the score at the time. San Diego did catch an early break on a deep ball intended for Isaac Bruce. Bruce had gotten by the DB and would have hauled in a long touchdown from Marc Bulger, but the ball was well overthrown and harmlessly fell incomplete. The Chargers also missed two golden opportunities to create turnovers. The first came on a sideline pass for WR Torry Holt. CB Quentin Jammer got a jump on the route and appeared to get his hands on the football, but Holt managed to wrestle it away for a catch. Later, rookie CB Antonio Cromartie was camped under a deep ball down the sideline intended for Holt, but it was broken up at the last minute for an incompletion. LB Donnie Edwards appeared to be shaken up late in the game while making a tackle and he came off the field, but he appeared fine after the game and there was no mention of an injury afterwards.