I didn’t see the play, I don’t plan on seeing the play, and I don’t need to in order to say what about I’m about to say.
From all accounts (including ref Ed Hochuli himself), Hochuli messed up on a fumble that should’ve gone to San Diego and ended the game, but instead kept Denver’s hopes alive and set them up for a last-minute, game-winning score in their 39-38 win over San Diego.
However, anyone blaming the officials for the Chargers losing the game has their finger pointed in the wrong direction.
It’s undoubtedly heartbreaking as all hell to have a couple of defensive stops separating you from being 2-0 and 0-2, but the thing is, despite Phillip Rivers and Darren Sproles’ best efforts to break down the Broncos, San Diego’s defense didn’t get it done for the second week in a row.
Last week against Carolina, the Chargers gave up nearly 400 yards and allowed a backup tight end to have a career day, then catch a game-winning touchdown pass on the final play of the game.
On Sunday against the Broncos, Rivers threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns and Sproles filled in admirably for an injured LaDainian Tomlinson and accounted for more than 300 all-purpose yards (53 rushing on seven carries, two catches for 72 yards and a score, and a 103-yard kick return for a score), and the two connected for a 66-yard touchdown play to complete a comeback from a 21-3 first-half deficit and put the Chargers up 38-31 with a little over four minutes to play.
But, the defense allowed Jay Cutler to go 36 of 50 for 350 yards and four touchdowns, with 18 of those passes going to Brandon Marshall for 166 yards and a score, and even before said turnover that was but wasn’t, had allowed Cutler to drive Denver 79 yards down the field to San Diego’s 1 with relative ease.
Then, following the turnover that was but wasn’t that pushed Denver back from the 1 to the 10, the Broncos ended up converting a 4th and goal from the four, and after Eddie Royal caught the touchdown pass on the fourth down to make it 38-37, Cutler went to him again for the decisive two-point conversion.
I can understand the frustration, the annoyance, the anger, all of it. It’s justified. I mean hey, if that call had gone their way, it’s game over, Chargers get their first win of the season, and anytime the officials come into play when a game is in the balance, it’s not an enjoyable situation for the team on the wrong side of the call.
These two losses don’t make San Diego a bad team though, and I do think that if they can regroup after two disheartening defeats, that the AFC West is still theirs for the taking, though the Broncos may well be a lot better than expected.
But even Shaun Phillips isn’t making excuses about how things turned out on Sunday. When you have a series of missed plays through the course of the first 59-plus minutes, it isn’t about just one play at the end, and if the Chargers want to be the team that they were expected to be this season, the defense will have to step up starting next Monday night against Brett Favre and the Jets.
