The Chargers may have stumbled out of the gate yesterday, but they were able to right the ship and finish strong. After being down 21-3 the Chargers rallied back to score 30 unanswered points and eventually win 33-28.
With 11 minutes left in the second quarter the Chargers punted for the last time in the game. The offense looked unstoppable the rest of the way. Key stats for the Chargers offense… 54% conversion rate on 3rd down and they controlled the clock holding the ball for 38 minutes compared to 21 for Detroit.
The defense also stiffened after a first quarter when it was the Lions that looked unstoppable. Many a Chargers fan was shaking their heads after the first quarter wondering if we would stop anyone all-season. Two key stats from the Chargers D… 69 yards allowed on the ground and they held Detroit to 3 for 10 on 3rd down.
Kyle Emanuel’s first NFL game and all he does is get a sack and an INT. Seriously, I think we can start expecting big things from this guy.
Philip Rivers – looked great except for the two interceptions. The first one was thrown behind Allen and bounced off his shoulder pad and into the Lions hands and they quickly returned it for 6 points. He should have thrown this ball away. The one at the end of the half was an underthrown ball to Floyd. Its hard to knock on Phil for those two when he went 35 for 42 for 404 yards and 2 TDs, but that was at least 10 points that he gave away.
Melvin Gordon looked far more explosive in his first NFL game than the pre-season. He seemed to be running with a little more violence. 14 carries for 51 yards is not anything to get real excited about but it was a good start to his NFL career.
Keenan Allen was spectacular. 15 catches for 166 yards and converting a crucial 3rd down and 19 on an underneath route where he juked a defender to the ground. The dude was special on Sunday.
Ladarius Green had several receptions. The biggest surprise for me was how hard he is to tackle. there were several occasions where he shed tacklers like they were grade schoolers.
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Kyle Emanuel first NFL game. Fifth round pick. First start. And all he does is get a sack and an INT. Seriously, I think we can start expecting big things from this guy.
Melvin Ingram looked as good as he has in the pre-season. He blasted Stafford in the second and after that the QB never did look quite the same.
The secondary was amazing. Megatron who? They held Johnson to 2 catches for 39 yards and Tate to 4 catches for 24 yards. Flowers and Verrett are for real.