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The San Diego Chargers have placed 30-year old TE Antonio Gates on Injured Reserve due to foot problems. Gates played in 10 games for the Chargers this year and he caught 50 passes for 782 yards (15.6 avg) with 10 TD grabs. Gates has now played in 119 games in his first 8 years with the Chargers and he has caught 529 passes for 7,005 yards (13.2 avg) with 69 TD grabs. Randy McMichael will replace him this Sunday against the Broncos.
The Bengals ambushed the Chargers yesterday as they outplayed them on both sides of the ball. Philip Rivers didn’t have his best game as he completed 27 of 40 passes for 256 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT. Ryan Mathews led the way for the Chargers on the ground with 55 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.6 ypc) with a TD run. He also caught 3 passes for 28 yards (9.3 avg) in this game. Darren Sproles pitched in with 3 carries for 8 yards (2.7 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 55 yards (6.9 avg) in this game. WRs Legedu Naanee (4 rec, 59 yards), Vincent Jackson (4 rec, 54 yards) and Kelley Washington (5 rec, 40 yards, TD) led the way for the Chargers in the passing game yesterday. The Chargers finished up with 64 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes for 249 yards.
Safety Eric Weddle (16 tackles, 1 pass defensed), LB Antwan Applewhite (9 tackles) and DT Ogemdi Nwagbuo (fumble recovery) led the way for the Chargers’ D yesterday. The Bengals finished up with 102 yards rushing on 38 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 21 passes for 269 yards. The Chargers are now 8-7 on the season as they were eliminated from the playoffs in Cincy.
The Chargers are on a 2-game winning streak in which they outscored the competition by a combined score of 65-7! The Chargers have won six of their last seven games and they can’t afford any more losses if they want to have a legit shot at the playoffs. The Bengals broke a 10-game losing streak by beating the Browns at home last weekend. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:
When the Chargers have the ball: The Chargers will be without Antonio Gates & Malcolm Floyd this weekend against the Bengals. That shouldn’t stop Philip Rivers from throwing the ball as someone has always stepped up this year. Vincent Jackson broke loose last week for 3 TD grabs and I don’t see any of the Bengals’ CBs matching up with him due to his size. TE Randy McMichael has also turned into a dependable target for Rivers while Gates was out of action. The Chargers will also use Mike Tolbert, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles to attack the Bengals’ D which is allowing 120.1 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.
When the Bengals have the ball: The Bengals are likely going to come out running the ball with Cedric Benson & Bernard Scott against a Chargers’ D that is allowing only 89.4 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry. The Chargers will be all up in Carson Palmer’s grill as they have 44 sacks already this year. They figure they can force Palmer into making some big game altering mistakes in this game.
PREDICTION: CHARGERS 27, BENGALS 10
The Chargers have signed 31-year old linebacker Brandon Moore. Moore last played in the NFL in 2007 with the 49ers. Moore has now played in 88 games in his NFL career and he has 244 tackles, 9 passes defensed, 15 sacks, 1 interception and he has forced 5 fumbles. The Chargers signed Moore to help them on special teams and to give them a little more depth at linebacker.
The Chargers completely dominated this game as the 49ers’ TD came during garbage time in late in the 4th quarter. Philip Rivers was right on last night as he completed 19 of 25 passes for 273 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs. Ryan Mathews (17 carries, 56 yards) and Mike Tolbert (17 carries, 46 yards, TD) led the way for the Chargers on the ground in this game. Darren Sproles only carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) but he also caught 5 passes for 30 yards (6.0 avg) so he helped the cause last night. Vincent Jackson really broke loose last night for the Chargers with 5 grabs for 112 yards (22.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs. TE Randy McMichael pitched in with 5 grabs for 55 yards (11.0 avg) as he starting in place of an ailing Antonio Gates. The Chargers finished up with 108 yards rushing on 41 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 25 passes for 266 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:11.
The Chargers put forth a great team effort on D as they sacked Alex Smith of the Niners 6 times (each by a different player). LB Kevin Burnett led the way for the Chargers on D last night with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit. CB Dante Hughes (6 tackles) and safety Steve Gregory (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Chargers last night. The 49ers finished up with 61 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 29 passes for 131 yards. The Chargers are know 8-6 on the season and they are very alive in the playoff chase.
The Chargers have placed 27-year old safety Pat Watkins on I.R. due to a knee injury. Watkins played in 4 games for the Chargers this year and he had 5 tackles. The Chargers won’t miss Watkins too much as he was just playing on special teams.
The Chargers have won 5 of their last 6 games to pull within 1 game of the Chiefs in the AFC West. The 49ers pounded the Seahawks 40-21 last weekend to pull within one game of the Rams & Seahawks in the NFC West. So this sets up for a “must win” game for both teams and here is a look at the matchups:
When the Chargers have the ball: Even without Antonio Gates (foot injury) due to injury, the Chargers are going to come out throwing the football. Philip Rivers is likely going to have a lot of success against a Niners’ D that is allowing 227.3 yards passing per game. It’s up in the air as far as who will be Rivers’ favorite WR tonight but he has had success no matter who he is throwing to so far this year. Mike Tolbert, Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews will likely split up the carries in the running game tonight but the Niners are tough against the run.
When the Niners have the ball: The Chargers will likely try to stop the running game first making the 49ers a one dimensional offense. The 49ers don’t have the type of WRs to beat the Chargers deep so they would likely feed the ball to TEs Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker on the short stuff. They also would target Brian Westbrook a lot out of the backfield in the passing game. The Chargers hope that the pressure they put on Alex Smith will force him into throwing some picks.
PREDICTION: CHARGERS 27, 49ERS 17
27-year old RB Darren Sproles does whatever the Chargers ask him to do…..and he does it all well. Sproles has played in 13 games so far this year for the Chargers in which he has carried the ball 41 times for 215 yards (5.2 ypc) and he has caught 44 passes for 409 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Sproles also excels on special teams. He has returned 41 kickoffs for 1,014 yards (24.7 avg) and he has also returned 24 punts for 166 yards (6.9 avg) so far this year. Sproles has now touched the football 150 times for the Chargers so far this year and he has 1,804 total yards (12.0 yards per touch) with 2 TDs. He is averaging 138.8 all-purpose yards so far this year for the Chargers. Sproles is a very valuable player for the Chargers as he can do it all.
The Chargers traded up last April in order to select 23-year old RB Ryan Mathews with the #12 overall pick of the first round. With that in mind the Chargers expect much more out of Mathews than what they have gotten so far this year. Mathews has played in 9 games for the Chargers so far this year and he has carried the ball 103 times for 447 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs. He also has caught 16 passes for 98 yards (6.1 avg) so far this year. The most troubling thing about Mathews’ rookie season is that he can’t beat out fullback Mike Tolbert for the featured role in the offense.
The Chargers completely dominated the Chiefs in this game. Philip Rivers was efficient as he completed 18 of 24 passes for 226 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT. The running game was spread out to give a lot of RBs a taste. Mike Tolbert led the way for the Chargers in this game on the ground with 66 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run. Rookie Ryan Mathews pitched in with 65 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.1 ypc) with a TD run. Darren Sproles was also a busy body with 6 carries for 53 yards (8.8 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 51 yards (10.2 avg). WRs Malcolm Floyd (4 rec, 51 yards, 2 TDs) and Kelley Washington (3 rec, 50 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chargers. The Chargers finished up with 207 yards rushing on 43 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 24 passes for 219 yards as they had possession of the ball for 40:10!
The defense was awesome for the Chargers yesterday. LB Antwan Barnes (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and LB Larry English (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 QB hits) led the way for the D yesterday. The Chiefs finished up with 48 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 9 of 20 passes for 19 yards. The Chargers are now 7-6 on the season which has them only 1 game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West.