WR Vincent Jackson (Chris McGrath/Getty)
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Publisher, SDBoltReport.com
Posted Nov 9, 2009
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Philip Rivers led another come-from-behind win and Vincent Jackson caught a pair of scores as the San Diego Chargers rallied for a 21-20 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. The victory improves the Chargers to 5-3 and vaults them right back into the playoff race.
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Philip Rivers added validity to his "Mr. Fourth Quarter" moniker by leading the Chargers on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the final three minutes of the game, capping things off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson with 21 seconds left.
It was Jackson's second score of the day and seventh of the season, tying his career-high. With eight games left to play, Jackson is a safe bet to shatter that mark in what has been a breakout campaign for the fifth-year receiver.
"Norv and the coaching staff have done a good job of just keeping us focused on one week at a time," Jackson said.
While the offense stole the show at the end, San Diego's defense deserves credit for its gutsiest outing of the season. The defense's biggest stop followed a Rivers interception with less than four minutes to play. The Giants took over possession at the San Diego 4-yard line and were unable to punch it in, giving the Chargers another opportunity to drive for the winning points.
The defense sacked Eli Manning four times -- two by Shawne Merriman, one by Shaun Phillips and one by Alfonso Boone – and let the Giants convert just five of 14 third downs (35 percent).
"Our guys have great character and they're awfully competitive," Norv Turner said. "This was a character win. There is no quit in this group."
Many of San Diego's recurring defensive struggles were present again. Manning completed better than 75 percent of his passes; Brandon Jacobs averaged more than 6 yards on his 11 carries; and the Chargers failed to force a turnover.
Nonetheless, Ron Rivera's men bowed their backs when it mattered most.
"This was a great win for us because it tests our character and lets us know where we're at as a team," Merriman said.
Lightning Quicks
--Sunday's game marked the second time this season Rivers has run the two-minute drill to perfection to steal a win on the road. He also did in during the season-opener against the Oakland Raiders.
"Philip, he's in such control out there," Turner said. "We struggled with some of our one-on-one matchups in the front, but we were able to block them on the last drive and that was big. Our guys stepped up and did some of the things they're capable of doing."
However, Rivers did throw two interceptions in the same game for the first time since Week 2. But seeing as he followed his second turnover with the incredible orchestration of the game-winning drive, his coach was quick to forgive him.
"Philip is not going to blink," Turner said. "I thought he managed the clock very well."
--LaDainian Tomlinson ran 12 times for 22 yards (1.8 ypc). That's his lowest number of rushing yards in a game in which he had at least 10 carries since 2005, when the Philadelphia Eagles limited him to 7 yards on 17 carries. The Eagles will face the Chargers at Qualcomm this upcoming Sunday.
--TE Kris Wilson caught his first pass as a Charger and made the most of it, scoring a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
What did fans have to say on Sunday? View all the in-game discussion right here.
Michael Lombardo is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a long-time contributor to the Scout.com network. His analysis has been published by the NFL Network, Fox Sports and MySpace Sports. He has followed the Chargers for more than 15 years and covered the team since 2003. You can see more of his updates by following him on twitter.
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