Chiefs keep Chargers on a slide
SAN DIEGO -- During the course of their first two quarters Sunday, the San Diego Chargers built a 10-point lead over Kansas City and used their familiar ground attack to recapture just a bit of last season’s magic.
In the second half, however, the Chargers abandoned their running game.
And their passing game.
And their defense.
By game’s end, the flash of promise amounted to nothing. The Chargers skulked off the field with a 30-16 defeat -- their third consecutive loss -- while fans at Qualcomm Stadium invoked a wistful chant of “Mar-ty, Mar-ty, Mar-ty.”
They were referring to Marty Schottenheimer, fired a month after last January’s playoff loss to New England, even though his Chargers won an NFL-best 14 games during the regular season. He was replaced by Norv Turner, who has yet to show he can win as a head coach.
“They paid their money, they have a right to voice their opinions just like anybody else,” said Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 132 yards in 20 carries -- his first 100-yard game of the season -- but got only six carries in the second half. “Obviously, they showed their frustration with us, the way we’ve been playing. And I can’t say I blame them.”
Sunday marked the first time since 2003 the Chargers (1-3) have dropped three games in a row, and their upcoming schedule is no breeze. They play at Denver next Sunday, always a tough game, then play host to the surprisingly resurgent Raiders.
“When you have a game like this, when you’re ahead at halftime and you let it get away, everything becomes more critical,” Turner said.
His Chargers absolutely flopped in the second half against the Chiefs (2-2), frittering away a 16-6 lead by surrendering three unanswered touchdowns. Those three were all highlight-worthy scores. Damon Huard threw scoring passes of 22 and 51 yards, and cornerback Tyron Brackenridge scooped up a fumble by San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers and returned it 50 yards for the final touchdown.
In the San Diego locker room -- home to 11 players selected to last season’s Pro Bowl -- the wide eyes are abundant and solutions scarce.
“It’s tough,” said Rivers, whose zero-touchdown, two-interception performance earned him a rating of 44.8, the lowest since his 12.4 rating against the Chiefs last December. “We’re faced with it. We can’t change it. We can analyze it all we want, as I know everyone will. The answers lie within us and in that locker room, practice fields and in the meeting rooms. We’ll go get them answered.”
Having scored only 26 points in their first three games -- the lowest season-opening point total in franchise history -- the Chiefs were itching for a breakout game.
They sputtered in the first half, collecting only six first downs and converting only one of six third downs. But they made some big plays after halftime and wound up outgaining the Chargers, 390 yards to 333.
Larry Johnson led Kansas City on the ground with 123 yards in 25 carries.
And, with the game tied at 16 early in the fourth quarter, Dwayne Bowe turned a third-and-19 situation into a 51-yard touchdown play.
If Bowe’s slant pattern looked familiar, it’s because the Chargers’ secondary was burned by a similar slant a week earlier at Green Bay. That play, a Brett Favre-to-Greg Jennings touchdown, covered 57 yards.
“It was the same play,” Bowe said. “We watched it on film, how the guy had inside leverage. [Offensive coordinator Mike Solari] called it, and I made a great catch. That’s something they have to work on on their side.”
The Chargers have plenty of pressing concerns on their to-do list. Their last eight possessions ended this way: interception, field goal, punt, interception, punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs.
As the frustration swelled, so did the chorus of boos. As for the Marty chants? Rivers wasn’t as accepting of those as his running back.
“It’s somewhat disappointing,” the quarterback said. “We understand to an extent [of the crowd’s] frustration. We’re frustrated way more than anyone outside of the locker room, I guarantee that. We certainly don’t want to make bad plays. We understand that everyone is disappointed.
“We can’t really worry about everyone else’s feelings. We have to go play, and we want to get this thing turned around.”
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