Chargers haunted by plays not made
Kavell Conner forced a fumble the Chargers recovered. Overturned.
Eric Weddle intercepted a pass in the red zone. Nullified.
Weddle forced a fumble around a gang of teammates. Anyone?
The Chargers have lost consecutive games for the first time this season, and it wasn’t for a lack of chances. They fell Thursday night to a Broncos team that made the most of its own, taking control mid-game and fending off San Diego in a 35-21 road loss.
Afterward, credit was given.
“They outplayed us,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “I just think they’re better than us right now.. … We didn’t have any of those plays. They didn’t go our way. There’s really no excuses. They beat us.”
Maybe the Broncos are better.
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But the better team, with a few plays, may not have won.
Rivers capped a 13-play, 84-yard drive consuming most of the second quarter with a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keenan Allen. That tied the game at 7. On the ensuing kickoff, Conner forced a fumble that tight end Ladarius Green recovery.
Or so was the call on the field.
A replay found that Broncos wide receiver Andre Caldwell’s elbow first touched the ground before the ball came loose. It was Denver ball. Eight plays later, it was Denver touchdown, quarterback Peyton Manning hitting wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for 31 yards past cornerback Richard Marshall.
In Week 2, Conner forced a fumble on a kickoff during the second quarter against the Seahawks. The Chargers recovered and won the game.
These plays matter.
So does a play like Weddle’s fourth-quarter interception. It came with San Diego trailing 28-14. The Broncos were about to score, right there on the 2-yard line. Weddle reached into the air with his left hand, pulled the ball into his chest and returned the pick to the 19-yard line.
A yellow flag laid atop the end-zone grass.
Safety Marcus Gilchrist was called for holding. Running back Juwan Thompson plowed in a 1-yard touchdown the next play.
On the ensuing drive, Rivers again led a long touchdown drive, this one spanning 80 yards in eight plays in less than two minutes. A 10-yard catch from tight end Antonio Gates brought the Chargers back to within two scores, 35-21,
Next play: touchback.
Next play: a fumble Weddle forced that, if someone, anyone recovered, would’ve given the Chargers possession at the Broncos’ 42-yard line. Instead, Denver consumed a few more minutes of clock before a missed field goal. Neither team scored again.
So, give the Broncos credit.
They are the better team, an unquestionable statement through the season’s halfway point. They sit alone atop the AFC West. They’re 6-1 The Chargers are 5-3.
But this was very close to being an entirely different game.
“I think the tough thing about this game is I feel like we got beat soundly, badly,” outside linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “But just like all games, there’s a few key plays in there that swing. When you don’t make those plays against a quarterback and team like that, the score is going to end up like it did.
“There’s no doubt the message of this game you have to make big plays, and you can’t let their plays rattle you.”
