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Week 1 Game Recap: Chicago Bears 3, San Diego Chargers 14
What you need to know
| Chicago Bears |
The biggest positive to take from this game from a Bears perspective is the dominance their defense showed for the better part of the afternoon. They held league rushing champion LaDainian Tomlinson in check for most of the game, and allowed just 77 rushing yards for the entire contest. San Diego failed to score a point in the first half of this game, something that never happened once in 2006.
Chicago lost this game in large part because of the ineffectiveness of its running game. Cedric Benson had a very inauspicious debut to the season with just 42 yards rushing on 19 carries (including a fumble), and Adrian Peterson had a costly fumble of his own with the Bears trying to drive for the lead.
Rex Grossman again proved the assumption that he's just not good enough to lead a fantasy squad. Grossman put up very pedestrian statistics and never looked comfortable.
| San Diego Chargers |
LaDainian Tomlinson once again showed why he's the premier player in fantasy football, even when he's not able to run the ball consistently. Tomlinson had just 37 yards from scrimmage with about a minute left in the third quarter, but then fired a 17 yard touchdown pass. He later added a score on the ground and finished with 76 yards from scrimmage.
QB Philip Rivers looked a bit off. His statistics wouldn't necessarily suggest that, and he was certainly hurt by a number of dropped passes. But it can be argued that the drops were in part caused by the inaccurate passes.
TE Antonio Gates started off great out of the gate (no pun intended) and never let up. He was heavily targeted in both the first and second halves, and was the recipient of the lone touchdown pass in the game for either side.
The San Diego run defense brought its 'A' game. Chicago attempted 25 rushes for a meager 80 total yards, but perhaps more importantly San Diego also forced and recovered two fumbles by Chicago running backs. Those turnovers were extremely costly, and quite likely the difference in the game.
What you ought to know
| QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 12 - 23 - 145 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Grossman never established any kind of a rhythm. He was drilled by Shaun Phillips early in the contest for one of the most vicious hits you'll see all season, but it didn't seem to affect him as far as injury. Sideline reporter Pam Oliver mentioned that Grossman was seen shaking his hand at one point, but it was never addressed again. Despite that hit and several other sacks throughout the game, his offensive line actually afforded him plenty of time to throw for the most part. His receivers were able to get open more often than not, but he just didn't look very comfortable. He misfired on a number of passes, and a lack of communication doomed several others. On a deep ball to Bernard Berrian late in the first half, the receiver stopped his route short, which led to the interception. Still, it wasn't all bad luck that did in the Bears QB. In fact, he actually enjoyed a bit of good luck on a later series when he fumbled the ball away but caught a lucky bounce when it went right into the waiting arms of his own RB, Adrian Peterson. It isn't fair to pin this loss on Grossman alone because it's not like he was the only reason for the loss; still, he didn't do very much to help his team win either.
| RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 19 - 42 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Benson's game ended much the same way his 2006 season ended: with a whimper. In just his second career start, he looked a bit jittery. He dropped a screen pass early in the second quarter, which was perhaps telling in that he only saw one more passing target the rest of the way. If Benson is to get those all-important receiving totals to boost his yardage, he's going to need to hold onto the passes he does see. At times, Benson appeared to be running slow, and was tentative to hit the hole. A lot of that could have something to do with the San Diego front seven getting a great push all game long, but Benson just didn't appear able to make things happen on his own. He also lost a fumble, which didn't seem to bother the coaches as much as one might have thought. He carried for five yards on the very next offensive play for Chicago. Additionally, his lost fumble wasn't nearly as costly as Adrian Peterson's late in the game, so for now at least it probably isn't an issue as far as future playing time. Benson's poor afternoon ended with him being stuffed on a fourth and one carry late in the fourth quarter as Chicago tried getting back into the game. Again, Peterson had previously been stuffed on third and short so it's not as if the backup was doing anything the starter could not.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 7 - 38 - 0 |
Peterson had an opportunity to show off for the coaching staff and perhaps earn more playing time in this game, but it appears that he literally fumbled that chance away. With Cedric Benson struggling to get anything going in the run game, Chicago turned to Peterson more as the game went on. His seven rushes for 38 yards (5.4 YPC) is certainly a large upgrade over Benson's 2.2 YPC. But Peterson's fumble early in the fourth quarter with the Chargers up 7-3 put San Diego in position to drive in for the clinching score. With the Bears trying to salvage the game later, Peterson was stood up on third down and two to go. He was very tentative on the play, and his baby steps approach obviously didn't get the job done.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 5 - 83 - 0 (10 targets) |
Berrian showed a nice ability to get open consistently. While he never got loose downfield for any huge gains, he was able to consistently get in that 15-20 yard range. On several occasions, he had a number of San Diego defenders around him but he was able to find the soft spot in the zone to make the play. It showed he isn't just a burner who hauls in deep balls; he's learning the finer points of the position and did a good job to get open when his team needed him to. One negative on Berrian's performance was on the interception. Rex Grossman threw it deep downfield for Berrian, who appeared to simply end his route and break off the wrong way as the ball was heading left. It was easily intercepted by S Marlon McCree and San Diego took over possession.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (4 targets) |
Muhammad was uncharacteristically quiet, with just one reception late in the second half for a very minimal gain.
| TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 3 - 38 - 0 (3 targets) |
With rookie TE Greg Olsen out, most expected Clark to see more action than he did. He did make the most of his targets by catching all three passes that were thrown his way, including one from the shadow of his own end zone for 24 yards.
| TE Greg Olsen |
Olsen was inactive for the game due to a sprained knee.
| PK Robbie Gould 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
Gould connected on his only field goal, from 27 yards out.
| CHI Rush Defense |
It was reported early in the contest that some Chicago defenders were fired up to face Tomlinson because they felt slighted by a new Nike commercial in which he is shown making a dominant run against the Bears. Whether it was that or simply the collective talent of a terrific defensive unit, the Bears stifled LaDainian Tomlinson all game long, holding the 2006 rushing champ to just 25 yards on 17 carries (1.5 YPC). The fact that Tomlinson got 17 carries despite his ineffectiveness shows that the Chargers never abandoned the running game and kept trying to wear the Bears down. Yet the fact that 23 of Tomlinson's yards came on three of his carries means that he was absolutely locked down nearly every other time he touched the football. He simply had nowhere to run. About the only blemish on Chicago's defensive resume was when it allowed Tomlinson a seven yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. A couple of defenders had a shot at taking him down, but the elusive running back still found the end zone. Late in the game, the Chargers plugged backup Michael Turner in the game and he quickly wore down the Chicago defenders to the tune of 41 yards on his ten carries.
| CHI Pass Defense |
It looks like the Bears did just an okay job on pass defense because Philip Rivers completed over 70% of his passes and they only forced one turnover (not to mention allowing a touchdown pass from LaDainian Tomlinson). But in reality, the Chicago pass defense was very stout. Countless times, they had intense pressure in Rivers' face and forced bad passes downfield. They managed to sack him three times and intercepted him once, with the pick being a direct result of the strong pressure up front. They had very few answers for TE Antonio Gates, though that is something they have in common with most teams that face Gates. S Mike Brown was injured late in the contest with what's being called a sprained knee.
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 22 - 31 - 190 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - -1 - 0 |
Rivers certainly didn't play his best game, but considering the opposition his numbers aren't too shabby. He failed to throw a touchdown pass, but he was close on several occasions. He completed one pass to WR Vincent Jackson that took Jackson down to the two yard line. On another, he fired a pass into the end zone that was intended for Jackson but was batted away at the last moment. It wasn't simply bad luck that prevented Rivers from putting up big numbers, however. He was under a ton of pressure from the Chicago defenders, and rarely had much time to throw. His accuracy was very off early in the game, as he sailed one pass high to LaDainian Tomlinson, and another off-line to Antonio Gates. The interception was also a product of a combination of pressure up front and a very poor decision by Rivers. He was looking for Gates down the seam, but he threw off-balance and sailed the pass high and over the big tight end and into the waiting arms of S Mike Brown. One other aspect of Rivers' performance to watch out for is the actual snap of the ball. On several occasions, it appeared as if the Bears defenders knew the snap count, flying off the line in perfect timing with the snap. This is something Rivers will need to be very wary of in upcoming games, specifically next week against the New England Patriots.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Pass: 1 - 1 - 17 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 17 - 25 - 1, Rec: 7 - 51 - 0 (10 targets) |
It is clear that the San Diego game plan was to force-feed the ball to Tomlinson every chance they could. And it was just as clear that the Bears defensive gameplan was to ensure Tomlinson's running wouldn't beat them. Yet even the best-laid plans can go awry, as Tomlinson beat the Bears in another way -- with his arm. He threw the seventh touchdown pass of his career, which puts him just one behind all-time leader (and his idol) Walter Payton on the non-QB passing touchdown list. Tomlinson was bottled up by Chicago defenders for just about the entire afternoon, but managed to find TE Antonio Gates on a designed roll-out pass, a play borrowed from the Cam Cameron playbook of the past few years. Roughly six minutes later, Tomlinson scored on the ground from seven yards out, proving that it's possible for him to have an excellent fantasy game even when he is being all but shut down by the opposition. His ten passing targets tied a game high, and his touchdown run later in the game was a combination of power and agility, as he broke two tackles and maneuvered around another on his way for the score.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 10 - 41 - 0 |
Turner did what he does best; that is, sit and wait his turn on the bench until the Chargers have built up a comfortable lead. Then enter the game late in the fourth quarter and run over everyone. Turner once again bested LaDainian Tomlinson on a per carry basis, as Turner came in and rumbled for 41 yards on ten carries to help run out the clock (4.1 YPC versus 1.5 YPC for Tomlinson).
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jackson's statistics look very poor, but he was very close to putting up some very solid numbers against a tough Bears defense. On one of his three receptions, Jackson was taken down at the two yard line following a ten yard pickup. On another target that fell incomplete, Jackson was open in the back of the end zone and leaped to haul in a potential touchdown. Unfortunately for him, the ball was tipped at the last moment and it ended up bouncing harmlessly off of Jackson's shoulder pad. As expected, he was the third most heavily targeted San Diego player after Gates and Tomlinson.
| WR Craig Davis, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Davis was quiet in his first NFL game, as the vast majority of the San Diego passing targets went to RB LaDainian Tomlinson and TE Antonio Gates. There were very few scraps leftover for the wide receivers.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 9 - 107 - 1 (13 targets) |
The Bears had very little defense for Gates. Despite being targeted on nearly half of the team's receptions, the Bears almost seemed to lose track of where he was at times. It wasn't as if he was making spectacular catch after spectacular catch. The vast majority of his receptions were open slants and crosses over the middle where he not only made the catch but also had some room to run after the catch. He had a big third down conversion reception in the third quarter, and it came as no surprise because at the time he was really the only reliable option on offense for San Diego (Tomlinson included). The touchdown reception was a designed halfback rollout pass from Tomlinson to Gates, and it was executed to perfection by both players. Gates went over 100 yards early in the fourth quarter before San Diego kind of put the clamps on its own offense and grinded it out.
| PK Nate Kaeding 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Kaeding had a field goal opportunity go by the wayside early in the game when the attempt was blocked. The kick would have been a 33 yard try.
| SD Rush Defense |
Neither Chicago running back enjoyed much success running against the Chargers, though Adrian Peterson did look to be the much more active of the two. Of course, it was his costly fumble that set up the Chargers for their game-sealing touchdown and pretty much put this game to bed. San Diego held Cedric Benson down to 42 yards on 19 carries and held Peterson to 38 yards on seven carries. Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact that the Chargers made the key stops when they needed to. They forced fumbles on both players, and stood up both players on successive short yardage runs late in the fourth quarter with the Bears trying to get back into the game. Shawne Merriman had a quiet game with just two solo tackles, mostly because the Bears appeared intent on staying away from him. Merriman completely whiffed on an open-field tackle attempt of RB Cedric Benson on a screen pass, and that was pretty much the most activity we saw from Merriman all game.
| SD Pass Defense |
Shaun Phillips pretty much set the tone early in this one, coming off the edge to sack Rex Grossman early in the first quarter. Grossman was hit with such force that his head snapped back and the ball was actually forced into his chest, preventing him from fumbling. While Grossman typically had far more time than that to throw, it's unclear whether that early salvo threw him off for the remainder of the contest. He never really looked comfortable, despite getting ample time on more than a few occasions. The Chargers did sack him three times, but it's not as if they were in his face on every other play. Still, they apparently did enough to rattle him. About the only player San Diego had consistent trouble with was WR Bernard Berrian, who was able to find soft spots in the zone on a pretty consistent basis.
