Week 4 Game Recap: San Diego Chargers 13, Baltimore Ravens 16

What you need to know

San Diego Chargers

HC Marty Schottenheimer once again ran a very conservative passing offense. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t take shots downfield, as the Chargers attempted at least five passes that would be considered deep balls. Rather, he opted to run the ball constantly and didn’t want to put the ball in the hands of Philip Rivers and the receivers until desperation time.

Due to the decision to run the ball 41 times as opposed to 22 passes, several Chargers’ receivers had less than stellar games. TE Antonio Gates caught just four balls for 41 yards, and WR Keenan McCardell failed to record a single reception for the first time in his career.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson put up decent stats, as the Chargers remained committed to the run throughout. But it was backup Michael Turner whose “bowl em’ over” running style was far more impressive in this game.

Baltimore Ravens

For the second consecutive game, QB Steve McNair led the team downfield for a game winning drive after a mostly quiet three and a half quarters. Afterwards, players commented on this being the precise aspect missing from Baltimore in years past.

TE Todd Heap was extremely quiet early on, but really got it going in the second half to finish with a game high 60 yards receiving and the game winning touchdown.

RB Jamal Lewis was rarely heard from. He had an astoundingly quiet 15 carries for 34 yards, with his long gain of the day going for six yards. One would have thought he wasn’t even playing in the game, that’s how infrequently his name was mentioned.

Starting G Edwin Mulitalo left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent elbow injury and did not return.

What you ought to know

QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 13 - 22 - 145 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0

Rivers came out firing early, leading a touchdown drive that he capped with a 31 yard strike to a wide open Malcolm Floyd. The Chargers eventually grew that lead to 13-7 by halftime, but HC Marty Schottenheimer put the clamp on the passing game in the second half. Rivers threw just eight second half passes, with four of those coming on the final desperation drive. San Diego ran the ball twice on third and long situations, opting to play for the field goals rather than trying to move the ball downfield. There were a couple of opportunities for Rivers to boost his stats late in the contest, however. He just missed a streaking Vincent Jackson down the seam for what would have been a 34 yard touchdown pass, with the ball falling just out of reach. And as unlikely as it would have been, Rivers put the team in position for a Hail Mary attempt to end the game. The pass never got off, however, as Rivers was sacked to end the contest. It was the first time he had been sacked all season. Rivers didn’t play flawlessly, as he made a terrible read on an early attempt to TE Antonio Gates that was intercepted by Bart Scott. Rivers clearly never saw Scott break off into Gates’ route to get the ball. Additionally, Rivers should have been intercepted by S Ed Reed on the desperation drive, but Reed dropped the ball.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 27 - 98 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

Tomlinson was bottled up in the early going, as Baltimore keyed on the run game and tried forcing San Diego to beat them through the air. After it was shown that the Chargers could do just that, Tomlinson had a bit more room. He broke off a 29 yard scamper for his longest run of the game, and found the running room tough to come by aside from that. The Chargers’ inability to move the football on the ground was the main reason for their inability to sustain drives, as HC Marty Schottenheimer ran at every opportunity in the second half. Despite the struggles in the game, Tomlinson went over 100 combined yards from scrimmage in the game, though he never came close to scoring.

RB Michael Turner, Rush: 7 - 46 - 0

It’s usually sacrilege to even suggest such a thing, but Turner was the better runner against the Ravens than LaDainian Tomlinson. Turner is much stronger through the hole, and has the ability to move the pile even when there are several defenders in his way. While Tomlinson is far superior in the open field, in a game like this where running lanes are tough to come by, a guy like Turner who can bowl people over is a better weapon. Case in point: with the Chargers struggling to move the ball on the ground, Turner took his first carry 19 yards. This at a time when Tomlinson had carried 14 times for 38 yards. Turner averaged over six yards per carry on a day when Tomlinson averaged fewer than three per carry (against the same defenses).

RB Lorenzo Neal, Rush: 5 - 13 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets)

Neal got a couple of short yardage carries, but nothing near the goal line. He also fumbled a carry in the shadow of his own end zone, which could curtail any future carries he may see. Neal’s worth is obviously as a blocker, as his rushing totals are few and far between. On a classic Neal play, he took a screen pass up the right side from Philip Rivers into the open field. When he found himself in space, he actually ran laterally to his left to seek out a defender and try to initiate contact when he probably could have just run forward and gained few more yards.

WR Eric Parker, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (5 targets)

Parker was more involved than in either of the first two games, with mixed results. He tied for the game high in receptions with four, but totaled just 37 yards. He also had a slightly embarrassing highlight when he was nailed for a tackle during a punt return by Baltimore punter Sam Koch.

WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets)

Jackson was targeted twice on deep balls down the seam. The second one actually should have been good for a 34 yard touchdown, but QB Philip Rivers threw the ball just out of the reach of Jackson. There was no fault with Jackson, who was open on the play.

WR Malcolm Floyd, Rec: 1 - 31 - 1 (2 targets)

Floyd was the recipient of the early touchdown pass from Philip Rivers. A wide open Floyd managed to get behind the Ravens’ last line of defense, and waltzed into the end zone following a quick cut-back. He saw one more deep ball in the game, but that was the extent of his involvement after the score.

WR Keenan McCardell

For the first time in McCardell’s career, he failed to catch at least one ball. Not only that, he wasn’t even targeted once in the game. There was no mention of an injury that I heard during the telecast, but several little used players saw time during the game so it’s possible McCardell was in and out of the lineup.

TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 4 - 41 - 0 (8 targets)

Gates was covered by Ed Reed for much of the day, and he was blanketed by the safety on his one target in the end zone. Gates’ stats don’t reflect a poor performance by him; rather, it is of a team wide philosophy to limit how much they are going to put the ball in the hands of Philip Rivers. Gates made a sparkling one-handed catch on a third and 13 pass early in the first quarter, tipping the ball to himself in traffic and holding on despite receiving a big hit. But he was heard from very little after that aside from a game-saving (at the time) fumble recovery near the Chargers’ own end zone. He hauled in an 18 yard cross on the next to last play of the game to salvage some fantasy points, as he had just 23 yards receiving to that point.

PK Nate Kaeding 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Kaeding suffered the prototype up and down game. He connected on a career long 54 FG, but later missed wide right from 40. It was his first miss in 15 tries, and it cost the Chargers as they ended up losing by three. He lined up for a 52 yard kick late in the game, but never got a chance to attempt it as the hold was botched and the kick was never made.

SD Rush Defense

The Chargers basically made RB Jamal Lewis invisible. They held him in check to the point where Baltimore all but abandoned hope of establishing a running game. They stood him up at the 5 yard line early, and stuffed him on a key third and one late. Whether on first or second down or in short yardage situations, the Chargers’ interior defense came up with big stops in the run game. They looked just as good against Baltimore’s run game as they have in the first two games of the season, and after a terrific year last year defending the run; it certainly appears that this unit is certainly one of the league’s very best.

SD Pass Defense

Up until there were a couple of minutes remaining, the Chargers’ pass defense had picked up where it left off against Oakland and Tennessee. The Ravens were having a ton of trouble moving the ball through the air, and weren’t sustaining any drives. The only touchdown drive of the game came after an interception and great field position, and they weren’t moving the ball consistently. CB Quentin Jammer continued to look much-improved, intercepting a deep pass from McNair and making a beautiful tip-away on a quick out to WR Derrick Mason. Other plays of note were Stephen Cooper’s great tackle and forced fumble on TE Daniel Wilcox at the goal line, a play that seemed to cement a San Diego win despite coming with loads of time remaining.

Yet despite holding the Ravens in check throughout, the Chargers were able to do very little on the eventual game winning drive. Steve McNair found time to hit open receivers downfield, and the defenders appeared very lethargic. Even their most dynamic player, Shawne Merriman, came up short on the final play. TE Todd Heap hauled in what was eventually the game-winning touchdown around the three yard line. Rather than wrap up Heap, Merriman tried running into the big tight end and knocking him over. But Heap simply bounced off, and continued on his way for the game winning score. One lineup change of note - Clinton Hart started for Terrence Kiel, who was arrested on drug charges earlier this week.

QB Steve McNair, Pass: 17 - 30 - 158 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 11 - 0

McNair was definitely out of rhythm early on. Even the announcers mentioned needing an adjustment period for McNair regarding terminology, personnel, etc. They said he didn’t look comfortable yet in Baltimore. In truth, McNair did look uncomfortable for much of the game. He held onto the ball far too long on the play he fumbled, and only a fortuitous bounce prevented it from being a turnover. He was then intercepted on a deep ball by CB Quentin Jammer when it was obvious that no Baltimore receiver was within 15 yards of the football. Later, he was picked over the middle by LB Donnie Edwards, a pass he never should have made. Yet when the Ravens needed him to come up big, he did just that. His terrific play on the final drive of the game for Baltimore is the only reason they were able to pull out this win. He made several perfect passes to his receivers on that drive, and consistently spotted the open man and made terrific reads. His stat line could have been more impressive too, if not for some early game bad luck. He tossed a perfect pass down the left sideline for Derrick Mason that would have gone for a long score, but Mason lost the ball in the sun. McNair also completed a shovel pass to TE Daniel Wilcox that the TE took down to the one yard line before fumbling the ball away. Finally, McNair lost 13 yards passing on a play that was called back due to a formation penalty.

RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 15 - 34 - 0

Lewis had about as quiet a game as he’s ever had. He wasn’t targeted once in the passing game, and his longest run went for just six yards. He was stood straight up at the five yard line, which was the closest he came to scoring in the game.

RB Musa Smith, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets)

Smith had a nice nine yard burst on his first carry upon entering the game, but only got one carry besides that one. It was interesting that he saw so little work on a day that Baltimore couldn’t get the run game going with Jamal Lewis, and the game remained close throughout the afternoon.

RB Mike Anderson, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 (3 targets)

Anderson was a non-factor with just one carry for no yards, and he failed to catch any of the passes throw his way. At this point, he is clearly an afterthought in this offense.

WR Mark Clayton, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (6 targets)

It won’t show up in the stat sheet, but Clayton came up big with two key receptions that kept the Ravens moving downfield on their final possession. While it was Derrick Mason who saw much of the early action, Clayton was a guy who Steve McNair saw fit to trust in huge spots with the game on the line.

WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (11 targets)

It is clear that Mason and McNair have a lot of experience working together, but it’s also clear that the two are not yet completely in sync. Mason saw an early reception on a pass that wasn’t intended for him, and missed a bomb down the left sideline that would have gone for a huge touchdown had Mason not lost it in the sun. He did come close to scoring early on, catching a ball and being tackled at the 2 yard line. But that was the closest he came. Mason lost 13 yards receiving on a play that was called back due to a formation penalty.

TE Todd Heap, Rec: 4 - 60 - 1 (5 targets)

Heap had an extremely quiet first half. He had zero receptions, and the only pass thrown in his direction was dropped. But he made up for lost time in the second half, coming alive for to post game-highs in receptions and yards, while scoring the game winning touchdown. He lived deep down the seam for much of the second half, and made a great effort to withstand a big hit from Shawne Merriman on the game winning score.

TE Daniel Wilcox, Rec: 3 - 17 - 1 (4 targets)

Wilcox was the early recipient of a touchdown pass from Steve McNair, as he fought through a shoddy tackle on his way to the end zone. Wilcox nearly added another score late in the game on a shovel pass from McNair, but fumbled the ball away at the goal line. He wasn’t thrown to again in the game.

PK Matt Stover 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points

Stover connected on both of his extra point tries, with no field goal attempts.

BAL Rush Defense

The Ravens were able to bottle up LaDainian Tomlinson for much of the game. They allowed him one nice 29 yard run, but that was the extent of his damage. Baltimore’s plan appeared to be what most teams plan is – key on Tomlinson and force the Chargers to win through the air. Despite early game success through the air, San Diego tried to grind it out in the second half and found themselves in a lot of third and long situations. Despite success against Tomlinson, the Ravens had much more trouble with his backup Michael Turner. Turner averaged over six yards per carry, and was able to run people over whereas Tomlinson’s cut-back style and shiftiness were rendered moot against the speedy Ravens defense.

BAL Pass Defense

The Chargers came out firing early, culminating with a 31 yard touchdown pass to a wide open Malcolm Floyd. But San Diego put the clamps on its own passing game as the afternoon went on, enabling the Baltimore defense to key on the run for much of the second half. The Chargers took few shots downfield, and those they did take didn’t pan out very well. Safety Ed Reed should have had an interception on the Chargers’ final desperation drive, but he dropped the ball right in his hands. The Ravens got very little pressure on Rivers for much of the game, but managed to finally record a sack on the last play of the game – it is the only time Rivers has been sacked all season to this point.