Rivers Sharp As Chargers Beat Cowboys

When this season started out for the San Diego Chargers one of the "unknowns" was whether or not Philip Rivers could return to his old form and be an effective starting quarterback.  The past previous 2 seasons Rivers has looked fairly bad to awful...turning the ball over during crucial times in games and failing to lead the Chargers, when behind, to game winning scores.  Rivers had a pass deflected and intercepted late in the first half and the Cowboys ran it in for a touchdown to go up 21-10...a feeling of another game down the toilet was beginning to creep into my thoughts...but, the Chargers were able quickly drive down the field and get a field goal just before halftime and went into the locker room down 21-13.

Dallas would not score again.  The Chargers defense seemed to let the Cowboys get a few first downs every series, but would do just enough to stop the Cowboys short of scoring in the second half.  In the first half, Dez Bryant was looking like a beast as he outjumped the shorter Charger db for a score and then on a catch and run, he seemed to easily glide away from Charger defenders.  But the Chargers defense made just enough adjustments to keep the cowboys contained.

Rivers was on target all day...throwing for over 400 yards and Antonio Gates had 140 of those yards and a long touchdown score in the fourth quarter that made the game a 2 score lead for the Chargers.  The Chargers defense then came up with a big turnover as the Cowboys fumbled the ball at the goal line with 2:42 left to play...sure the Cowboys wouldn't have taken the lead but it gave them a chance to win it...the turnover ended all that.

Even though the game was played in San Diego anyone watching it may have thought it was in Dallas as there were plenty of Cowboy jerseys in the stands and the cheers as Dallas did well seemed louder than for the Chargers...hopefully, if San Diego continues to do well the Charger fans will begin to show up again.

Dwight Freeney was injured during the game...that could be a big blow for the defensive line if he misses some time.  Even though his stats may not show it, he might be the Chargers best pass rusher....with other teams having to focus on him it has allowed others to get free and benefit from his attack.

Chargers are 2-2 right now, which is better than I thought they would be doing at this point...next up, they travel to Oakland.  I think the Raiders are improving and aren't of doormat status anymore...in fact, the way things are shaping up, the AFC West is actually turning out to be a pretty formidable division again...Broncos and Chiefs both have yet to lose and the Chargers and Raiders are playing decent enough to beat "bad" teams. 

If Rivers continues his solid play and the defense can start making more plays, the Chargers could certainly be a "surprise" team this year...of course they have yet to play the Broncos or the Chiefs to see how they stack up against those teams...but so far, the Chargers aren't a totally "bad" team...