The Sports Report: Chargers hold off the Texans

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jeff Miller: Coming off a four-touchdown loss at home, the Chargers on Sunday had given away nearly all of a 20-point lead as the midway mark of the fourth quarter approached.

It would be overly dramatic to suggest their season was facing a collapse of biblical measures.

It would not be misleading, however, to note that things changed when safety Derwin James Jr. heard a voice booming from above.

The public-address announcer at NRG Stadium helped spur the Chargers as they rallied back to secure a 34-24 victory over Houston.

With the score 27-21 and just under 10 minutes to go, the Texans forced a DeAndre Carter fumble on a kickoff return, Houston taking over at the Chargers’ 16-yard line.

The stadium, with its roof closed, was noisier than it had been all afternoon as James and his defensive teammates trotted back out.

“The little announcer guy [was saying], ‘Hey, we’re back in the game! Get loud!’ ” James recalled later. “I could hear that. … It kind of [ticked] me off. I’m like, ‘OK, we gotta end this game.’ ”

RAMS

From Gary Klein: He was cast aside for a younger quarterback regarded as the San Francisco 49ers’ future.

He had shoulder surgery. Did not participate in the team’s offseason workouts. Worked off to the side during training camp and waited in vain as the 49ers sought trade partners.

There was no reason for the Rams to believe they would play against Jimmy Garoppolo in a 49ers uniform this season.

But on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium, the Rams once again will face the winning but oft-maligned quarterback who typically plays some of his best games against them.

That is only one of the challenges for the defending Super Bowl-champion Rams (2-1), who have not defeated the 49ers on the road since 2018 and enter Monday night’s game with an offensive line and secondary depleted by injuries.

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DODGERS

From Mike DiGiovanna: Tyler Anderson threw 86 pitches Sunday, not one of them traveling faster than 92 mph, the Dodgers left-hander content to cruise in the slow lane while so many of his peers zoom down the autobahn at 97-98 mph.

But what Anderson lacks in velocity he makes up for in command, deception and guile, a combination that earned the 32-year-old with the herky-jerky delivery a playoff rotation spot. It was on display again in his final regular-season start.

The Dodgers lost to Colorado 4-1 before 44,091 at Chavez Ravine, their normally potent offense mustering three singles off Rockies starter Germán Márquez (9-13) and relievers Justin Lawrence and Daniel Bard, the latter striking out six of his last seven batters for the save.

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ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: Before the Angels’ final home game of 2022, stadium host Mandi Ortiz asked two young fans what they wanted to see during the game.

Their answer: Mike Trout hitting a home run.

In the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers, in front of an announced crowd of 26,041, Trout delivered.

The slugger crushed his 39th home run of the season off of Tyson Miller’s 2-and-2 curveball, which Miller threw right down the middle.

Trout jumped on the pitch and launched it 409 feet to its typical landing spot, over the center-field wall.

USC FOOTBALL

From Dylan Hernández: Caleb Williams is the kind of player who can make an entire stadium “ohhhh” multiple times a game.

By spinning out of a certain sack. With a jump pass to the far sideline. With throws on the run to the back of the end zone.

Then there was this, the most spectacular of five-yard runs near the end of the first half of USC’s 42-25 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night, during which he evaded a defender with a pump fake and a spin move, after which he came to a sudden stop, sending another aspiring tackler by him out of bounds.

Williams is electric.

He is also just 19 years old.

If his four-touchdown performance against the Sun Devils showcased his breathtaking gifts, the week preceding it offered evidence of his relative inexperience.

Now, his midterms are coming up.

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LAFC

Denis Bouanga scored his first Major League Soccer goal in stoppage time and LAFC clinched the Supporters’ Shield with a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers on Sunday.

LAFC (21-8-4) had already earned the top seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye with the best record in the league. It is LAFC’s second Supporters’ Shield in four years.

“We envisioned making the playoffs this year, but certainly this was beyond our expectations,” LAFC coach Steven Cherundolo said.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1942 — With a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Whirlaway becomes the first horse to amass more than $500,000 in lifetime earnings.

1951 — Bobby Thomson hits a three-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Giants a dramatic 5-4 playoff victory and the National League pennant.

1971 — Billie Jean King wins the Virginia Slims-Thunderbird tournament in Phoenix to become the first women tennis player to win $100,000 in one year.

1973 — The formation of the World Football League is announced.

1974 — Frank Robinson signs a $175,000-a-year player-manager contract with the Cleveland Indians, making him the first black manager in major league history.

1981 — USC’s Marcus Allen rushes for 223 yards against Oregon State, his fourth straight 200-plus rushing game.

1990 — George Brett, Kansas City Royals, become the first player in MLB history to win a batting title in three different decades.

1993 — The Toronto Blue Jays become the first team in American League history to have teammates finish 1-2-3 in the batting race. John Olerud leads the league with a .363 batting average, Paul Molitor finishes at .332 and Roberto Alomar at .326.

1997 — Sixty-nine-year-old Hall of Famer Gordie Howe skates the first shift with the Detroit Vipers in their International Hockey League opener, becoming the only professional in his sport to compete in six decades.

1998 — Ricky Williams rushes for a school-record 350 yards and five touchdowns to set NCAA records with 65 career rushing touchdowns and career points by a non-kicker (394) as Texas defeats Iowa State 54-33.

2004 — Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki finishes the season with a MLB record 262 hits.

2009 — Aqib Talib has three interceptions in Tampa Bay’s 16-13 loss at Washington.

2010 — Angel McCoughtry scores 18 points as the United States wins gold at the women’s basketball world championship with an 89-69 victory over the Czech Republic.

2010 — Josh Scobee kicks a 59-yard field goal — the eighth-longest field goal in NFL history and longest in franchise history — as time expires to give Jacksonville a 31-28 victory over Indianapolis.

2015 — Leonard Fournette highlights his third straight 200-yard game with a 75-yard touchdown run, and No. 9 LSU defeats Eastern Michigan 44-22. Fournette has 233 yards and three touchdowns to become the first player in the history of the Southeastern Conference to rush for 200-plus yards in three straight games.

2015 — Max Scherzer pitches his second no-hitter this season for Washington, striking out a team-record 17 and leading the Nationals over the NL East champion New York Mets 2-0 for a doubleheader sweep.

2021 — Tom Brady becomes the NFL’s all-time leader in career passing yardage eclipsing Dree Brees’ high of 80,358.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. Watch and listen here.