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San Diego Chargers Continue to Prove They are Relentless After Week 16 Win

Robert Stanton- USA Today Sports

Robert Stanton- USA Today Sports

The San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers‘ game mirrored the same scenario as the earlier Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins‘ contest. One team is playing for their playoff lives while the other has already been eliminated from playoff contention and aiming to play spoiler. However, unlike the Eagles, the Chargers refused to suffer the same fate.

Although it looked like that for the first half against the Niners. Down 28-7, the Chargers looked like they were heading toward the playoff elimination path. I mean, it looked bad for the Bolts. Philip Rivers threw two picks in the first half, with one of those picks being housed by 49ers safety Antoine Bethea.

San Diego played terribly in the first half, but if anyone knows Rivers’ fiery personality and this team’s unrelenting mindset, knows that you can ill afford to get caught napping against these guys. That is exactly what happened to the 49ers. Outside of an explosive 90-yard touchdown run by Colin Kaepernick in the third quarter, the Niners’ offense failed to come through in the second half, which by now should not come as a surprise to anyone. Too many three-and-outs and miscues allowed the Chargers to capitalize and obliterate San Fran 31-7 in the second half.

Rivers once again proved that he is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the NFL. The fact that he was able to shake off those costly turnovers in the first half and lob three huge touchdowns in the second half to carry his team to victory speaks volumes to how clutch he really is. It reminds me of a modern day Joe Montana minus the three-interception games. It must feel great having a 6-foot-4 tight end in Antonio Gates and an even taller 6-foot-5 receiver in Malcolm Floyd who can snag those jump-ball touchdown passes in a game of high magnitude.

Now the Chargers must hope the Baltimore Ravens lose on the road to the Houston Texans Sunday for a shot at a wild card berth. Ironically, the Chargers beat the Ravens three weeks earlier in a close game. This really benefits San Diego’s case in the wild card race.

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