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Week 11 Game Recap: San Diego Chargers 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 24
What you need to know
| San Diego Chargers |
Just when things looked to be turning around for the Chargers, they went sour in a hurry. San Diego opened the second half with a touchdown drive reminiscent of any from 2006. But they ended the game on a whimper, with a Philip Rivers interception costing them any chance at a comeback. Rivers' statistics look decent enough, but he actually played poorly.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson never got into a running rhythm, which might be the story of his 2007 season. He did manage to score, which put him just one behind Walter Payton on the league's all-time rushing touchdown list.
The San Diego defense allowed chunks of yardage and displayed some very shoddy tackling. It wasn't Maurice Jones-Drew doing all of the damage, either. They had trouble taking down the likes of Reggie Williams and Dennis Northcutt as well, and at times it was an almost embarrassing display of poor tackling.
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
QB David Garrard proved he is fully recovered from his ankle injury, and that the Jaguars will be a dangerous team come playoff time. He engineered some very efficient scoring drives and put up solid numbers on a day when the team really needed someone to step in and lead them.
The tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew was very good, totaling 118 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Taylor enjoyed a 20-12 share of the rushing duties, but Jones-Drew was the only who got into the end zone.
The Jacksonville defensive passing stats won't look too good (300 yards and a touchdown), but that was more a product of the Chargers throwing forty passes and connecting on two big plays. For the most part, the Jaguars were able to harass Philip Rivers and force him into some rushed (and bad) throws.
What you ought to know
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 22 - 40 - 309 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 16 - 0 |
Despite decent enough passing stats, Rivers never looked comfortable for a long stretch in this game. There were random occasions when he looked outstanding, such as his bullet pass to TE Antonio Gates for a touchdown or his perfect zip pass down the middle of the zone to Gates for 24 yards. But there were far more instances of missed opportunities and misfired passes. A lot of it wasn't even his fault, as Jacksonville always seemed to have at least one defender that made it through the line unblocked. But even when given time, Rivers didn't seem to have very much in the way of accuracy. His deep balls were underthrown, his short passes were overthrown, and his interceptions were two of the worst passes you'll see a quarterback make in a big spot this season. The first one was simply launched downfield on the run, and sailed well over the head of any potential intended targets. And the second one came as the Chargers attempted to mount a game-tying comeback drive late in the fourth quarter. What they got instead was a pass intended for WR Legedu Naanee that actually looked to be intended for the defender, S Sammy Knight. Rivers tried to keep his emotions in check for the most part, and this wasn't the screaming, out of control frenzy that we've seen in recent weeks. But that didn't make him any more effective; just a bit quieter.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 16 - 62 - 1, Rec: 5 - 93 - 0 (6 targets) |
Tomlinson started play needing 91 rushing yards to reach 10,000 for his career. He currently stands 29 yards shy now. While he was obviously unable to do much in the running game, he had huge contributions in the short passing game. He picked up 93 yards on five receptions, and showed a bevy of great open-field moves. He also found the end zone for the tenth time this season, making him one of only three players in the history of the league to score at least ten touchdowns in each of his first seven seasons (Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith are the others). The touchdown also put him one behind Walter Payton on the league's all-time rushing touchdown list, and the milestones he is putting up at this young age are mind-boggling. He gave his owners a bit of a scare when he gingerly walked off the field briefly during the second quarter, but he returned soon after looking no worse for wear. What was probably more damaging to Tomlinson was the affect the loss had on his psyche. On two occasions, his frustrations were very evident. On a third and one handoff to FB Lorenzo Neal, Neal was stuffed in the backfield short of the first down. On the ensuing replay, Tomlinson was visibly upset as he walked off. Later, on a fourth down option pass, Tomlinson was unable to lose the defenders and simply ran out of bounds for a turnover on downs. When shown on the sideline, he appeared to be very dejected on the bench.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 4 - 93 - 0 (10 targets) |
The Chargers will be kicking themselves over wasting the efforts of Chris Chambers. He caught almost every pass he got his hands on, and would've had an even bigger game had it not been for a couple of penalties that wiped out 29 receiving yards early in the fourth quarter. Of course, one of the penalties was on Chambers himself, and it cost him ten yards. He made a fantastic leaping grab on a deep ball down the sideline early in the game. It was initially ruled incomplete, as it appeared Chambers had landed out of bounds after corralling the deflected pass on a jump ball. But replays showed his elbow had barely touched down inbounds, and he was credited with a 44 yard reception. He made another great catch late in the fourth quarter when he showed terrific hands on a crossing pattern over the middle when he was able to hold on despite taking a huge hit from the defender.
| WR Legedu Naanee, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (6 targets) |
Naanee didn't do anything particularly impressive to warrant mentioning, except that he had more passing targets than either Vincent Jackson or Craig Davis (casting issue about who the true number two wide receiver option is for the Chargers). He did show great hands on a five yard out route in the middle of the third quarter, and was the intended target of the game-ending interception in the fourth quarter (proving that the team is looking his way at critical times).
| WR Craig Davis, Rec: 3 - 39 - 0 (3 targets) |
Davis was mostly effective, but also underused. He did catch three passes, but they were the only three passes thrown in his direction all game.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (4 targets) |
With each passing week, it becomes more and more apparent that Jackson's days as a relevant fantasy player for this season are dwindling. He was targeted just four times, and didn't catch his first pass until the first play of the second half. It was also the last pass he would catch all day. He had another drop on his last target of the afternoon, while fellow WR Chris Chambers was targeted ten times and had 93 yards.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 4 - 54 - 1 (9 targets) |
Gates was fairly quiet for much of this game and had just three receptions for 31 yards late in the fourth quarter. But he rebounded later in the contest and salvaged his stat line with a 24 yard touchdown strike from Rivers with just over five minutes remaining in the game. He could have scored earlier on a fade pass from Rivers near the goal line, but he was jammed a bit at the line and didn't get off into his route cleanly. The pass from Rivers sailed to the far left corner of the end zone, just out of the reach of the lunging Gates (who was open, but got to the spot a bit late).
| PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Kaeding connected on his only field goal attempt of the game from 23 yards away.
| SD Rush Defense |
The only chance the Chargers run defense had to rise up, they finished the job about two thirds of the way. After stopping RB Maurice Jones-Drew at the goal line both on first and second down, they were unable to contain him on third down as he literally ran through a pile of tacklers and into the end zone. San Diego didn't fare much better in trying to contain Fred Taylor, either, as they allowed him to run for 85 tough, hard-fought yards. And there was almost never a time where either running back was taken down on first contact. The Jacksonville passing game may have been what ultimately delivered the knockout punches, but it was the effectiveness in the running game that allowed them to sustain drives and move the football. And it was a combination of those two aspects of the game that led to an embarrassing play for LB Shawne Merriman. With Jacksonville at the one yard line, RB Maurice Jones-Drew headed up towards the line to take a handoff from QB David Garrard. But the handoff was faked, and Jones-Drew instead sought out a would-be tackler to make a block. Merriman, all 272 pounds of him, met the diminutive Jones-Drew at the line of scrimmage in a violent collision. While Jones-Drew remained upright, Merriman was sent hurtling backwards. Garrard simply stepped back and lofted an easy touchdown pass to TE Marcedes Lewis while Merriman lay futilely on the turf.
| SD Pass Defense |
Try as they might, the Chargers simply had no answers to stop QB David Garrard. Looking at the individual receiving totals for the Jacksonville players, not one name stands out as having an exceptional game. But Garrard was that efficient in spreading the ball around to the open man and never allowing San Diego to focus on taking anyone out of the action. If they did, he simply went somewhere else with the ball. They were unable to sack him or intercept any passes, though they came close on a few occasions only to drop the ball each time. LB Shaun Phillips, just returning from a groin injury, was a complete non-factor as a pass rusher but did register ten tackles in the game. LB Shawne Merriman was much less effective. He did get to Garrard on a couple of occasions and rushed a few passes early, but Merriman tallied just one tackle for the entire game and never came very close to a sack. The defensive backs didn't fare much better, allowing both Reggie Williams and George Wrighster to streak downfield uncovered for big gains. They also allowed a short touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis, though that was more a fault of the run-stoppers for selling out on the play action fake and leaving no one to cover the big tight end in the end zone.
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 15 - 24 - 189 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 4 - 0 |
Garrard returned from injury and showed immediately how much better the team is with him than without. He led scoring drives on each of Jacksonville's first three possessions, despite facing an early relentless pass rush from the Chargers. As the game went on, however, the pass rush went from relentless to occasionally disturbing to completely non-existent. Garrard took full advantage of the lull in pressure by picking apart the San Diego secondary. He never locked on to any one guy for very long, spreading the wealth evenly amongst his receiving corps. It was made much easier for him when San Diego's secondary forgot to cover people on a couple of occasions. Garrard really made some outstanding passes downfield, showing a lot of zip and a surprisingly good precision. He again managed to go through an entire game without throwing an interception, and remains the only starting NFL quarterback not to throw one in 2007. It was his seventh consecutive game without one, which is a new Jaguars team record. What's more, he wasn't sacked even once by the Chargers, a team known for its ability to get to opposing quarterbacks. About the only thing we didn't get from this game is how well Garrard can move around. He ran just five times for four yards and never really broke out into the open field, so it was tough to get a gauge on how well his ankle is responding to playing. He did sneak for a first down run on fourth down early in the first quarter, so the team is at least willing to put him in situations where contact can occur. Hopefully, the lack of contact on him in this game will help him to recover that much quicker. Garrard's only negative on the day was a propensity for almost turning the ball over. On three separate occasions, he had passes deflected either at the line or by defenders downfield and nearly intercepted, only to have the ball fall harmlessly to the turf. He was bailed out on these particular plays, but more often than not passes like that will be intercepted by the defense.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 20 - 85 - 0 |
Taylor turned in a very workmanlike performance of 85 yards on 20 carries (4.25 YPC). It was his ability to constantly move the chains and elude first tacklers that really helped to set up Jacksonville's deep passing game. Taylor nearly scored on a nine yard run to the one yard line, but he was spun down to the ground just before he was able to get in. In fairness to him, he did have to fight for several yards just to get as far as he did, and probably should have been taken down around the five yard line or so. In compiling his 85 yards, he passed former Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith for the most yards from scrimmage in franchise history.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 12 - 33 - 1, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (4 targets) |
The performance by Jones-Drew pretty well summed up why he is so well-respected within the NFL community. On a day when he didn't put up eye-popping stats, he showed a toughness and drive that goes well beyond the box score. Additionally, he managed to score a touchdown which saved his day for many a fantasy owner. On the touchdown series, he had previously been stuffed at the goal line both on first and second downs. On third down, he ran right into a pile of San Diego defenders but kept his legs churning. He bowled them over into the end zone for the score, which proved two things. 1 -- Jones-Drew is an extremely powerful runner. 2 -- The Jaguars will go back to him at the goal line time and again even if he doesn't automatically have success there right away. Perhaps the highlight of Jones-Drew's day came on a play where he didn't even touch the ball. On a play-action fake, San Diego star LB Shawne Merriman came up to lay a hit on Jones-Drew. Unfortunately for Merriman, the ball was still in the hands of QB David Garrard. The 5'7", 208 pound Jones-Drew laid out the 6'4" 272 pound Merriman with a vicious block that sent the linebacker sprawling backwards, a play which is sure to get plenty of airtime over the next week or so.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (3 targets) |
Northcutt showed he still has some nice open-field moves both on his receptions and with his special teams play. Still, his value forward is limited in that the Jaguars don't have a true number one option in the passing game.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 31 - 0 (3 targets) |
Wilford obviously wasn't a main factor in the passing game, and didn't do much of anything to change the outcome.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 2 - 62 - 1 (3 targets) |
Williams did what he seems to do quite often. That is, he's not much of a factor in the passing game but he somehow finds a way to get into the end zone. In this game, he did it with flair on a long touchdown pass courtesy of David Garrard. He simply ran by the cornerback Antonio Cromartie and got to the pass before safety Marlon McCree could get over. Then once the defenders converged on Williams near the three yard line, they opted to give very futile efforts to actually make the tackle and Williams waltzed into the end zone.
| TE George Wrighster, Rec: 5 - 47 - 0 (7 targets) |
Wrightster was surprisingly active, leading the Jaguars both in passing targets and pass receptions. He was mostly used down the seam in the middle of the field, and Jacksonville went elsewhere when they got near the goal line.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets) |
Lewis' only look of the game came on a play action fake to Maurice Jones-Drew. Lewis came all the way across the formation and was wide open for a one yard touchdown pass as the entire San Diego defense expected the run and completely sold out to stop it.
| PK Josh Scobee 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
Scobee, who hadn't played since Week 1 due to a quad injury, boomed a 48 yard field goal to prove that he is healthy at this point.
| JAX Rush Defense |
Any time you can bottle up the best running back in football for 62 yards, you're doing something right. Not only did LaDainian Tomlinson run for less than four yards per carry; he failed to reach the 10,000 rushing yard mark for his career, a milestone that was widely discussed prior to the game. Jacksonville defenders were aware of the mark as well, as LB Clint Ingram stated after the game that they didn't want him getting to that level against them. About the only hiccup on the performance by Jacksonville was allowing Tomlinson a six yard touchdown run, but that was offset by a couple of huge stops. On one play, FB Lorenzo Neal took a handoff up the middle and was knocked backwards on third down and short. On another, Tomlinson took a pitch to the right sideline on a play that was designed to be a pass. None of the Jacksonville defenders bit on the play, and Tomlinson was run out of bounds for a loss on the play.
One injury note on the Jacksonville defense: LB Mike Peterson broke his hand and will be sidelined 'indefinitely', according to the AP report.
| JAX Pass Defense |
While the stats will show that the Jaguars gave up 300+ yards and a touchdown through the air, the reality is that the Chargers were playing from behind for much of the game and those numbers were compiled in volume more than anything else. That is, when a team throws 40 passes in a game, they are going to eventually pick up some yardage. That said, there were probably a couple of instances where they allowed a few too many yards down the field. WR Chris Chambers picked up 93 yards on just four receptions, and the only reason it wasn't more was because of a couple of penalties against the San Diego offense. Likewise, Philip Rivers overthrew TE Antonio Gates in the end zone on a corner fade route that could have and should have gone for a touchdown. And the Chargers did manage to find the end zone through the air on a late touchdown pass to a sliding Gates. So it's not like the Jaguars played perfectly in this phase of the game. But they clearly weren't beaten repeatedly by San Diego, and they made the big plays that needed to be made. Reggie Nelson made an interception of a pass down the seam that was going nowhere fast, and S Sammy Knight made a game-clinching interception on the game's final drive by jumping the route and making a fantastic diving grab. The call was initially reviewed because it looked like Knight may have dropped the ball, but replays confirmed that he re-adjusted in mid-air and got both hands under the football for the pick.
