SAN DIEGO – San Diego is making a December run once again.
San Diego (7-7) scored on its first five possessions and never trailed against Baltimore (10-4), securing its third consecutive win and climbing within a game of the AFC West lead as well as the final Wild Card spot.
“You’re not going to play well against this team unless you get a great performance from your defensive front and your offensive line,” Head Coach Norv Turner said. “Certainly, we got that done today.”
Punter
The Bolts finished drives, too, punching through Baltimore on three goal line runs in addition to a 28-yard
The defense and special teams held serve while Rivers and the offense erected a 24-7 lead in the third quarter, then teed off. Two interceptions and seven sacks later, San Diego skipped off the field, a delighted sea of powder blue.
Against a team with one of the most physical reputations in the NFL, the Bolts controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football for a large part of the game.
The Chargers kept waiting for some sort of surge from a team tied for the best record in the AFC entering Week 15, but Torrey Smith’s 36-yard touchdown with 1:55 left and Baltimore’s subsequent failed onside kick were about it from a team strong-armed by the Bolts in the second half.
Rivers completed 73.9 percent of his passes for 270 yards.
“We played well from start to finish,”
Denver can lock up the AFC West crown with a victory at Buffalo next week or a win against Kansas City in Week 17 regardless of what San Diego does in its final two contests.
The Bolts, though, gained a game on the Broncos and Raiders in the division and also got within a game of the final Wild Card slot thanks to a New York Jets loss. New York and Cincinnati both are 8-6, and the Chargers could win a multi-team tiebreaker.
Turner now is 20-2 with the Chargers during the regular season in December and January.
TWEET THE HEADLINE
Congratulations to @iTweetSD for your winning Tweet the Headline submission used in this article.
The San Diego Chargers and Motorola are giving Chargers fans around the world a chance to show support for their team when they “Tweet the Headline” for every Chargers home game during the 2010 season. Fans can submit their headline on Twitter at the conclusion of each Chargers home game. One winning submission will be selected to headline a story on the Chargers' official website, Chargers.com. The headline will also be featured on the Chargers' official Twitter and Facebook pages. The person who submits the winning headline will receive a Chargers gift bag. At the end of the season one lucky winner will receive a Motorola XOOM.
