Week 7 - Chargers at Cleveland

AFC West Forum

They have FINALLY won a game. And let me tell you, the 4th quarter left us SD fans biting our nails. San Diego was going strong until the 4th quarter, which is their normal 'shut down' time. Cleveland came back strong, scoring twice in a row. Bringing the game to 23 - 20, the Chargers couldn't afford to allow their defense to get sloopy. But, they were, and it almost cost us the game. We were inches from a td, and we just couldn't do it. Offense didn't block and left Brees open, and he was taken down with a big loss of yardage. Got a field goal and handed the ball over to the Browns with seconds to go. Now, we're 1 and 5. WHOOPIE! It's still a crappy season, with a team that just doesn't seem to play like they should. The talent on the SD Chargers team is there. The individual players have great stats. But what happens when they play as a team? Why aren't we winning?

Way to go, Chargers. Glad that you finally ended up on top this week.

It took more than 200 total yards from LaDainian Tomlinson and surviving a late rally, but the Chargers finally have their first win of the season after a 26-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Tomlinson ran for 200 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and caught three passes for 21 yards while Steve Christie kicked four field goals for San Diego. In the fourth quarter, the Browns rallied from a 23-6 deficit to pull within three at 23-20, but the Chargers answered with a Christie field goal and stopped the Browns on their final two drives

CLEVELAND (Oct. 19, 2003) -- LaDainian Tomlinson helped the San Diego Chargers get their first win the best way he knows how -- by running.

Tomlinson rushed for 200 yards and one touchdown and the Chargers held off Kelly Holcomb's comeback Sunday for a 26-20 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Steve Christie kicked field goals of 44, 50, 43 and 32 yards and Kwaime Lassiter return an interception 38 yards for a TD for the Chargers, who came in as the NFL's lone winless team.

Tomlinson, though, took care of that.

Tired of losing, the sensational running back joked earlier this week that he was willing to do anything - even break the rules - just to get the Chargers a victory.

He broke off a 70-yard TD run on his first carry after halftime and picked up 143 yards in the second half as the Chargers (1-5) snapped a nine-game losing streak dating to last season.

But they had to survive Holcomb's heroics to do it.

Holcomb replaced an ineffective Tim Couch late in the third quarter and threw two TD passes - the second to tight end Darnell Sanders with 11:40 left - as the Browns (3-4) trimmed a 17-point deficit to 23-20.

But Tomlinson then helped San Diego run nearly eight minutes off the clock by darting around the field for 48 tough yards to set up Christie's field goal with 3:44 remaining.

Holcomb got the Browns to midfield, but threw three straight incompletions and gave the ball back to the Chargers, who didn't have to punt it back until there were just 25 seconds left.

Holcomb, who missed his fourth straight start with a broken right fibula, finished 11 of 19 for 90 yards and two TDs in relief of Couch, who went 13 of 24 for 102 yards and two interceptions.

Tomlinson, who came in averaging 5.1 yards per carry, turned his first run of the second half into the longest TD of his career to give the Chargers a 20-6 lead.

Running left, Tomlinson froze cornerback Anthony Henry with a stutter step, broke attempted tackles by linebacker Andra Davis and Robert Griffith and outraced the Browns to put the Chargers ahead 20-6.

After Couch's second pick, Christie's 42-yard kick made it 23-6, and with Cleveland's offense sputtering, it appeared the Chargers would coast to their first win since beating Denver in overtime on Dec. 1.

But as he has done before, Holcomb sparked the Browns, taking them on a 74-yard scoring drive that he capped with a 6-yard TD pass to Dennis Northcutt.

The Chargers gave the Browns the ball right back when Tim Dwight fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Holcomb made San Diego pay with his 2-yard TD toss to Sanders.

Lassiter's TD return with 5:27 left before halftime gave the Chargers a surprising 13-0 lead - their largest advantage this season.

Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Couch, who had at least three passes dropped in the opening half, locked in way too long on wide receiver Quincy Morgan and Lassiter was waiting.

Christie kicked field goals from 44 and 50 yards in the first quarter to put San Diego up 6-0.

Browns running back William Green had to leave with an unspecified shoulder injury early in the second quarter and was used sporadically the rest of the way.

Phil Dawson kicked two field goals for the Browns.



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Way to go!

You guys defied the odds this week.....

Its nice to see! Maybe this will light a flame, and the winning has just begun for the Chargers!!

Who do you play next week?

Next week, it's Monday night football. We're hosting the Miami Dolphins.
It will be VERY hard to have Junior Seau, our hero, playing for the Dolphins. I think that there will be more fans there just to see him than anything else.
I don't know if we will win or not. I don't think that the Chargers played very well in the last quarter. I think that they were in the mentality that they had won, and got lazy and sloppy and let it get too close. But, I'm glad that they won. It's no fun having your team win NO games.

You know...Miami played TERRIBLE today.....

The Chargers might just beat them....

Even though the Chargers have lost...they played pretty evenly in most of the games....they just might surprise Feidler and company next week....

I hope! (Im not a big fan of Miami)

I wish them BIG LUCK