The San Diego Chargers were able to win a wild 30-27 game over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium. Trailing by eight, the Browns put together an impressive drive with Josh McCown – he played his best game in a Browns’ uniform – and tied the game with 2:09 left on a 1-yard pass to Gary Barnidge and a two-point conversion pass to Taylor Gabriel.
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Wrong. Browns corner Tramon Williams jumped offsides, giving the Lambo another shot to win it. Naturally, he didn’t miss this one. “I know he’s got probably more Manziel jerseys out there than Ian Kennedy jerseys”.
Against a Chargers defense featuring talented players in the secondary like Brandon Flowers, Jason Verrett and, of course, Eric Weddle, Benjamin’s got a solid chance to prove his continued progression. Rookie running back Melvin Gordon has been pretty decent, but he hadn’t given the team the performance they were expecting from him when drafted.
Philip Rivers, the San Diego quarterback, is completing 75 percent of his passes. With their running game not performing well, the team relied too heavily on Phillip Rivers, who hasn’t been as sharp as he was throwing the ball previous year.
After last Sunday’s drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers took a page out of Aaron Rodgers’ playbook at his post game press conference and asked everyone to relax.
“It hurts when you don’t have the chance to have it last because you feel like everybody’s fighting, ” said McCown.
“I think across the board, playing and coaching needs to be better”, the Browns’ coach concluded.
“A couple of guys came over and said, ‘Hey, did you see that yellow thing on the field?” The majority of his receptions come out of the backfield, and he has the ability to pick up yards in space, so Cleveland’s defense will need to make sure Woodhead doesn’t gash them for a big gain.
In his two starts since coming back from a concussion in Game 1, McCown has thrown for 341 and 356 yards. The mistake gave Lambo another chance to end the game – which he did. Three of the Chargers’ five regulars on the offensive interior didn’t play, and former Alabama standout D.J. Fluker started at right guard despite an ankle injury. Rivers made the Browns pay again, finding Dontrelle Inman on a short crossing route against a zone defense.
MCCOWN COMES ON: Cleveland quarterback Josh McCown needed a big game to quiet critics who thought Johnny Manziel should be starting.
McCown and the Browns kept moving and kept answering Sunday, though. The over/under on total points scored is 45.
Gordon finished second in the Heisman voting previous year after rushing for 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns, including a 408-yard game against Nebraska and three others of 250-plus.
Coons kicked field goals of 36 and 28 yards, and Lambo also was good from 46 and 45.
McCown found a great match up early in the second quarter, spotting linebacker Donald Butler on running back Duke Johnson.
Rivers was sublime against the Browns, taking advantage of Joe Haden’s absence.
-WR Brian Hartline exited the game win the first quarter with a rib injury. He stepped up. That will be big for his confidence, too.
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The Chargers took a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter when Rivers clicked with wide receiver Keenan Allen on a 28-yard scoring strike. With the Denver Broncos still undefeated, the Kansas City Chiefs expected to be contending for a playoff spot and an Oakland Raiders team that is trending upward, falling to 1-3 would put San Diego in a hard position.
