Chargers lose to red hot Falcons

Chargers fall to 4-8

Well, it’s about time someone sticks a fork in the Chargers because they’re done. Their hopes of making the playoffs are all but finished with another loss this past Sunday that dropped them to 4-8 on the season. This time it was the Atlanta Falcons who came into Qualcomm Stadium and knocked the Chargers off. Making matters even worse for San Diego was the fact that Denver pulled off an upset victory against the Jets at the Meadowlands and built their lead on the AFC West to three games with only four left to play.

Nearing the end of the first quarter and trailing 3-0, the Chargers got a huge break when Atlanta’s Harry Douglas muffed a punt. San Diego recovered the ball at the Falcons 20 yard line and quickly drove in for the score. Ladainian Tomlinson’s three yard run for the touchdown gave the Chargers the lead at 7-3. But it turned out to be the only lead they would have and it didn’t last long. The Falcons would add a field goal and a touchdown on their next two possessions to go ahead 13-7. The touchdown came on an 18 yard pass from rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to Justin Peelle.

What happened next was quite indicative of the kind of season the Chargers have been enduring, a season of disappointment, bad calls, and weird plays. After the Ryan touchdown pass, Darren Sproles of the Chargers received the kickoff and lateralled to Legedu Naanee from his own ten. The play went nowhere as Naanee was stopped at the 8 for a two yard loss. Bad went to worse as the Chargers continued to move in the wrong direction, committing a false start penalty and losing three more yards on a Tomlinson run. After another Tomlinson run moved the ball to the four yard line Phillip Rivers went into shotgun formation and was flagged for intentional grounding while standing in the end zone. The result was a safety and two points for Atlanta who increased their lead to 15-7.

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The wild plays kept coming in the second half, and the Chargers actually got one the worked in their favor. After Atlanta moved the ball to the San Diego 23 yard line on the opening drive, Brian Finneran fumbled a pass at the 16. Eric Weddle returned the ball 86 yards for a touchdown. But the Chargers failed to convert a two point conversion and soon after the Falcons were driving again. Matt Ryan lead his team 72 yards on 11 plays and hooked up with Harry Douglas for his second touchdown pass of the day. The Chargers would go on to miss a field goal and make good on another but never got any closer than 22-16, which was the final score.

Coming into the game against Atlanta there was reason for San Diego to be hopeful, despite how unfulfilling their season had been up to that point. Having the luxury of playing at home against the Falcons, and knowing that the Broncos were on the road against one of the hottest teams in the NFL, seemed like the perfect combination for pulling to within one game of first in their division. It just didn’t work out that way the way it hasn’t worked out for the Chargers for most of the 2008 season. Now they find themselves three games back and on the brink of elimination. They’ll try to stay alive for at least another week when they take on the Raiders at home this Sunday, but the end of their playoff hunt appears inevitable.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com San Diego Chargers Correspondent