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Revenge game? Not so much for Chargers’ Kalen Ballage vs. Dolphins

Chargers running back Kalen Ballage carries the ball during the second half of a 29-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Chargers running back Kalen Ballage carries the ball during the second half of a 29-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
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Sunday was a revenge game for Kalen Ballage.

He probably walked away from it less than satisfied.

A former Miami Dolphin, Ballage was the Chargers’ starting running back and finished with 18 carries for 68 yards and five catches for another 34 yards.

But the Chargers lost 29-21 in Ballage’s return to Hard Rock Stadium.

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“I just want to go win a football game,” he said afterward. “It’s nothing personal. The NFL is a business. Sometimes, that’s how it goes.”

A lot of matters have gone wrong for the Chargers in this strange year, so seems coach Anthony Lynn should get a chance to right this sinking ship.

Nov. 15, 2020

Miami selected Ballage out of Arizona State in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft. He spent two years with the Dolphins, appearing in 24 games with six starts. In 110 carries, he gained 326 yards, an average of nearly three yards an attempt.

Ballage began this season with the New York Jets and appeared in three games. Then he joined the Chargers, first on the practice squad and the last two weeks on the active roster.

“I felt comfortable,” Ballage said. “I like having the ball in my hands. I feel like I’m able to do some things with it. I’m just going to try to get better and help this team.”

In his two games with the Chargers, Ballage has 33 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown.

He is playing because of injuries to Austin Ekeler (hamstring) and Justin Jackson (knee). Ekeler is nearing a return, while Jackson was just placed on the injured reserve list Saturday.

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