San Diego Chargers disappoint against the Jets

Photo from SD Dirk via Flickr

Leading up to the much-anticipated playoff game against the New York Jets, San Diego football fans were geared up and ready to go. The Chargers were big favorites over the Jets and their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.

As of Sunday evening, many Charger fans were asking themselves, “what happened?”

In what was likely the worst gameplay of the season, Rivers, LT, Sproles, Merriman, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, kicker Nate Kaeding, failed to deliver on the field.

The first half of the game was riddled with penalties, costing serious yardage, and in my opinion, inevitably the win. Nate Kaeding’s three failed field goal attempts did not help either.

It was a big back-and-forth for the first quarter. Neither team putting up any points. The first half went to the Chargers, dominating playing time and keeping the Jets at bay.

Rivers and the rest of the offense continually drove the ball down the field and the offense repeatedly stopped the Jets quickly. As a fan and a bystander, the Chargers looked good. Spirits were high going into the half and the overall vibe was that the Chargers could maintain the lead in the second half. That was what was expected. What was not expected was the Jets’ powerful defense and overall determination after the half.

The downward spiral that began in the first half was set further into motion after Darrelle Revis intercepted a ball that bounced off the back of Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson. To many onlookers, and to the Chargers who challenged the call, it appeared the ball was down. But in an unbelievable fluke scenario, the ball bounced off the intended receiver directly into the path of the Jets. They took the ball and ran with it, both physically and figuratively.

It was the beginning of the end for the Chargers. With about 7 minutes left to play, the Jets’ Shonn Greene ran up the middle with a 53-yard touchdown. Despite the rapid change of events, there was still some hope for the Chargers.

The plan was set: with a field goal and a touchdown, we were still in the game. It was completely do-able. Until of course the nearly 70,000 spectators in the Q were silenced when Kaeding missed the 40 yard field goal that would have kept the game alive.

Chargers offense pushed back hard and fast and put another 7 on the board. But with a little more than 2 minutes on the clock, hope was dwindling quickly. It would have been a miracle to pull off an onside kick and come out with a win. Apparently it wasn’t San Diego’s day for a miracle.

The Jets, in a completely unexpected result, came out on top with a final score of 17-14.

Despite the disappointing end to the season the San Diego Chargers, and Chargers fans alike, should be proud of the games played this year. The Bolts are division champions for the fourth year in a row and we made it to the playoffs again.

But in a statement that has become all too familiar for Chargers fans, we say, “maybe next year will be our year.”