The San Diego Chargers laid an egg last weekend against the Jets in New Jersey.  They had to fight tooth and nail to beat the Chiefs back in Week #3 in San Diego, 20-17.  The Chiefs have won three games in a row to get back into the hunt for the AFC West.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chiefs have next to no pass rush (6 sacks), so Philip Rivers should have time to throw the ball.  The Chiefs are giving up 235.8 yards passing per game so far this year, but they also have 11 interceptions, so Rivers is going to need to be careful with the ball.  The Chiefs are going to need WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd to step up tomorrow and be the players they were last year.  Mike Tolbert is out for this game, so Ryan Mathews and Jacob Hester will have to handle carrying the load in the running game on Monday Night, against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 125.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are likely going to come out running the ball with Jackie Battle, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster against a Chargers’ D that is allowing 121.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Chargers need to get a pass rush on Matt Cassel, because he throws pickoffs when he’s under duress.  If he has time to throw the ball, he might make some plays down the field to Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and rookie Jonathan Baldwin.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 20, CHARGERS 17

The San Diego Chargers need more from their WRs going forward.  Vincent Jackson has been in and out of the lineup due to injury.  He has caught 24 passes for 423 yards (17.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  The Chargers really need him to get healthy and be the #1 guy he has always been.  Malcom Floyd has also been banged up this year for the Chargers.  He has caught 14 passes for 294 yards (21.0 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  He is much better than that.  Patrick Crayton (8 rec, 63 yards) and rookie Vincent Brown (2 rec, 26 yards) have not gotten in on the action much for the Chargers so far this year.  The Chargers need these guys to step up.

The Chargers have placed 25-year old OLB Larry English on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season, due to a broken left foot.  English played in 5 games for the Chargers this year and he had 7 tackles and 2 sacks.  He has now played in 29 games in his first three years with the Chargers and he has 60 tackles, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  This is going to hurt the Chargers a little bit as English is a pretty solid pass rusher.

The Chargers took a 21-10 lead into the half in New Jersey yesterday.  But, then Rex Ryan made adjustments while Norv Turner didn’t not.  The result was that the Jets beat the Chargers 17-0 in the second half to win the game!  Philip Rivers was awful again yesterday as he completed 16 of 32 passes for 179 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Mike Tolbert led the way on the ground for the Chargers in this game with 11 carries for 58 yards (5.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ryan Mathews pitched in with 39 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 26 yards (6.5 avg) in this game.  TEs Antonio Gates (5 rec, 54 yards, TD) and Randy McMichael (3 rec, 45 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chargers yesterday.  The Chargers finished up with 96 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 32 passes (50%) for 172 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 27:14.

The defense was so-s0 in this game for the Chargers.  LB Donald Butler (9 tackles and a fumble recovery that he returned 37 yards for a TD), safety Steve Gregory (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and LB Takeo Spikes (7 tackles) led the way for the Chargers on D yesterday.  Safety Eric Weddle (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Shaun Phillips (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) also had big games for the Chargers yesterday.  The Jets finished up with 162 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 33 passes (54.5%) for 156 yards.  The Chargers are now 4-2 on the year.

Norv Turner and Rex Ryan have waged a war of words this week in the media.  It will be interesting to see how this game plays out because of that.  The Chargers had two weeks to get ready for the Jets, but that’s negated by the fact that the game is in New Jersey, where the Jets are 3-0.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers know that the Jets are going to be blitzing like crazy in this game, which is going to limit Philip Rivers’ shots down the field.  But, he gets Antonio Gates back this weekend and he is a big mis-match for the safeties of the Jets.  The Jets have been soft against the run, so look for the Chargers to make sure that Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert get a lot of work this week.  Rivers is a gunslinger though, so look for him to take some shots down the field to WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, who are much bigger than the Jets’ corners.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to likely come out running the ball with Shonn Greene.  The Chargers are giving up 113.6 yards per game on the ground and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.  Look for the Jets to also get the ball to a likely very inspired LaDainian Tomlinson in this game.  Mark Sanchez has been sacked 15 times already this year and he makes mistakes when pressured.  But, if he has time to throw the ball, he has some good weapons in Santonio Holmes, Dustin Keller and Plaxico Burress.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, CHARGERS 20

The San Diego Chargers’ RBs have really stepped up their games so far in 2011.  Second year RB Ryan Mathews has carried the ball 85 times for 413 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his first five games this year.  He has also caught 20 passes for 261 yards (13.1 avg) so far this year as he has helped make up for the fact that the Chargers haven’t had TE Antonio Gates most of this year.  Mike Tolbert has also been really busy so far this year.  He has carried the ball 36 times for 105 yards (2.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his first five games of 2011.  Tolbert has also caught 28 passes for 231 yards (8.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs this season.  Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert are averaging 202.0 yards from scrimmage per game so far this year, and that is truly amazing.  Fullback Jacob Hester also serves as the #3 RB for the Chargers.  He has played in all five games for the Chargers so far this year and he has carried the ball 14 times for 60 yards (4.3 ypc).  He has also caught 6 passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg) this year.  The Chargers are probably going to pass a little more with Antonio Gates back, but they are still going to get the ball in Mathews’ and Tolbert’s hands a lot going forward.

Sure, the Chargers are 4-1 on the year, but that is in spite of QB Philip Rivers instead of because of him.  Rivers has played in all five games for the Chargers so far this season and he has completed 125 of 186 passes (67.2%) for 1,536 yards with 6 TD passes and 7 INTs (87.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 35 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Hopefully Rivers will come back from the bye week ready to rock.

The Chargers have signed 31-year old linebacker Gerald Hayes.  Hayes played in 6 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 33 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 94 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has 428 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 14 passes defensed and 26 tackles for a loss.  This was a good signing for the Chargers as Hayes will replace the injured Stephen Cooper.

UPDATE:  (11/9/2011) – The Chargers have released Gerald Hayes.  He didn’t get into any games for the Chargers in his time with the team.

The Chargers have placed 32-year old linebacker Stephen Cooper on the Injured Reserve List due to a serious biceps injury.  Cooper played in 5 games for the Chargers this year and he had 1 tackle.  Cooper has played in 125 games in his 9 years with the Chargers and he has 503 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 8 interceptions, 11 tackles for a loss and 31 passes defensed.

The Chargers had to fight tooth and nail to hold off the Broncos yesterday in Denver.  Philip Rivers was so-so again as he completed 18 of 29 passes for 250 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (it was returned 55 yards for a TD by Broncos’ CB Cassius Vaughn).  Rivers also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and a lost fumble.  Ryan Mathews led the way on the ground for the Chargers in this game with 125 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  Fullback Jacob Hester got in on the action with 47 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg) in this game.  Mike Tolbert pitched in with 24 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg).  WR Malcom Floyd led the way in the passing game for the Chargers yesterday with 3 grabs for 100 yards (33.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Vincent Jackson (3 rec, 34 yards) and TE Randy McMichael (4 rec, 29 yards) also pitched in for the Chargers in the passing game.  The Chargers finished up with 206 yards rushing on 43 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 29 passes (62.1%) for 212 yards as they had possession of the ball for 40:08.

The defense was good against the pass but not so hot against the run yesterday.  LB Takeo Spikes (5 tackles), LB Donald Butler (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB Antoine Cason (4 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Chargers’ D in this game.  The Broncos finished up with 162 yards rushing on 23 carries (7.0 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 23 passes (43.5%) for 113 yards.  The Chargers are now 4-1 on the season.