The Chargers are at home again this week as they host the Arizona Cardinals in what many hope is a tune-up game to get the bad heebie-jeebies off the team’s back following the recent demoralizing loss to the Denver Broncos.The Cards are limping into this Sunday with a record of 2-8 following a disappointing loss to the Oakland Raiders. The short-term depression should be palpable in this one as each team probably thought their last contest was going to be a walk in the park.Yesterday was also Thanksgiving and I’d be wrong to think there wasn’t a handful of Bolts fans who took the time to express their thankfulness that the Chargers are still 7-3
Desmond King Color Rush Jersey , still second in the AFC West, and right on track for a playoff appearance if they can avoid a meltdown through the final month of the season.With that being said, let’s go right ahead and get to some of your questions from this week’s mailbag. Hey, Timmy.If there is anything I’m thankful for at the moment, it’s that the team is still among the best in the league and that they’re getting one of their best defensive players back at a crucial time in the season.I am also thankful that Telesco made the right call on Derwin James in this past NFL Draft and I’m also extremely thankful to see Melvin Gordon take another giant step forward in his development during his fourth year in the league.After the loss of Denzel Perryman, I knew thee was going to be a drop-off in play across the board. Fans saw his absence affect the team quite a bit last year and it didn’t take long for the same thing to happen this year. Honestly, I do not expect any linebackers to step up because I don’t think any of them are capable. If anything, I am begging and pleading for the secondary to step up and resemble anything like their 2017 form. Casey Hayward allowed some crucial catches last game that allowed the Broncos to march down the field in order to tie, and inevitably win, that last game. Something needs to change ASAP.On offense
Corey Liuget Color Rush Jersey , Philip Rivers is going to have to come out of this recent slump. He needs to completely avoid Travis Benjamin at all costs and get back to taking what the defense gives him. He needs to be more aggressive while maintaining efficiency with his plays at the line of scrimmage. He needs to be aware of mismatches and exploit them a la Tyrell Williams when they took advantage of the Cleveland Browns secondary.Jones has been close to an afterthought this season after he was drafted to inject some youth and energy into an aging position group.As a member of the vaunted North Caroline State defensive line during the 2017 college football season, Jones excelled at his role but didn’t offer much outside of making some plays he was expected to.The third round was a bit of a reach for him and I think the pick became rushed once the giants drafted his former teammate, DT B.J. Hill, as we had a source saying the initial pick was Hill prior to him coming off the board.Jones showed ample quickness and flashed a bit when I was down in Mobile for the last Senior Bowl but he has yet to transition any of those moments into his time at the professional level. Jones currently just has 12 tackles and half of a sack on the season and he was about to sit on the inactive list for the rest of the season until Corey Liuget’s injury.Until given a reason otherwise, I’m not putting any hopes into Jones this year as a difference-maker.Okay, so worst case scenario is obviously losing enough games to the point where the team wastes their 6-game win streak en route to the same 9-7 record that they finished with last season, essentially turning this year into purgatory for the development of this team. Here’s my predicitions for the team’s final five games following a win against the Cardinals on Sunday:12/2 @ PIT: L12/9 vs. CIN: L12/13 @ KC: L12/22 vs. BAL: L12/30 @ DEN: WSome may disagree, but I have always liked the Chargers chances better, even when away, when they play in an actual NFL stadium. Their games against the Bengals and Ravens at StubHub Center worry me greatly. It took the Chargers piecing together their worst performance of the season to lose to the Broncos by a field goal. Going into Mile High and winning does not worry me that much in comparison. Philip Rivers awed Tom Brady with a record-setting display of precision and accuracy.Rivers earned high praise from the only quarterback to win five Super Bowl titles after he tied the NFL mark for consecutive completions and broke records for the most to start a game and the highest completion percentage during the Los Angeles Chargers‘ 45-10 rout over Arizona on Sunday.The almost 37-year-old Rivers connected on his first 25 passes to surpass Mark Brunell’s mark of 22 in 2006
Dan Feeney Color Rush Jersey , and finished 28 of 29. His 96.6 percent accuracy surpassed Kurt Warner’s 92.3 percent set in 2009. Marcus Mariota also topped Warner by going 22 of 23 in Tennessee’s loss to Houston on Monday night for a 95.7 percent clip.Rivers tied Ryan Tannehill, who needed two games to complete 25 straight passes for Miami in 2015.“Philip made incredible throws. I watched the game. Obviously, when someone has a record-breaking performance, I want to go figure out what the heck they’re doing,” Brady said Monday in his weekly interview on Westwood One. “And the reality is there is a high level of difficulty on a lot of those throws. He made great throws where the receivers could get their hands on the ball and make the catch. The receivers made some good catches. Really, the incompletion came where he got a little hit as he was getting ready to pass. That probably would have been a completion. That’s just remarkable.”Brady made history, too.He moved ahead of Peyton Manning for most yards passing, including postseason, in league history. Brady has 79,416.Here’s a look inside some more interesting numbers heading into Week 13:BROWNIE POINTS: Nick Chubb is the first Browns running back to have at least one touchdown rushing and receiving in two straight games since 1950. … The Browns ended their 25-game road losing streak with a victory at Cincinnati.SPREADING IT AROUND: Drew Brees has thrown a touchdown pass to 13 different Saints players
Kyle Emanuel Color Rush Jersey , tied for the most in a season since 1970. Matt Ryan is the other quarterback to accomplish the feat during his MVP season two years ago.SACK, SACK, SACK: Baltimore’s Matt Judon sacked Derek Carr on three straight offensive plays, becoming the second player to do that since sacks became an official stat in 1982.DE JA VU: Jake Elliott kicked a decisive field goal in the final minute of regulation to give the Eagles a victory over the Giants for the second straight season. He booted one from 61 yards out in Week 3 last year and this time nailed a 43-yarder.LONG DISTANCE: Jets kicker Jason Myers has five field goals of at least 55 yards this season, most ever in a single season.NOT JUST A KICKER: Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell became the first player to throw a touchdown pass and kick a field goal in the same game since David Akers in 2012. Offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva was on the receiving end of Boswell’s pass.OPPOSITE EFFECT: Amari Cooper has three TDs receiving in four games with the Cowboys after he was acquired from Oakland. Golden Tate has just 11 catches for 97 yards and no scores in three games for Philadelphia following a trade with Detroit.JULIO’S 100: Julio Jones has 100 yards receiving six straight games, longest streak in Falcons history.RUNNING RAVENS: The Ravens have rushed for more than 200 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2012. They are 24-2-1 when doing so.SELECT COMPANY: Tampa’s Mike Evans has joined Hall of Famer Randy Moss (six) and A.J. Green (five) as the only players with 1,000 yards receiving in each of their first five seasons.SCRAMBLIN’ MAN: Josh Allen’s 99 yards rushing were the most by a Bills quarterback since 1960.MR. CONSISTENCY: Frank Gore has run for 500 yards in 14 consecutive seasons, longest streak in NFL history.ONE LOSS TOO MANY: Since 1990, only 12.3 percent of teams that started 5-6 made the playoffs while 45.4 percent of teams to start 6-5 made it.OFFENSE WINS: Nine teams have allowed 500 yards in a game and still won. That’s the most in a season in the Super Bowl era.
