CHARGERS NARROWLY ESCAPE FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON

By Liz Alper

Photos courtesy of Jamall LaFrance, Chargers Media Coordinator

September 14, 2015 (San Diego) - It looked like a lost cause.

In the first half, the Lions scored three touchdowns.  The Chargers, a mere field goal.  The score was 21-3 midway through the first half.  Philip Rivers made bad decision after bad decision and threw two interceptions.  The score was 21-10 at the half.

In the second half, it was as if the Chargers had been given a halftime speech by Mike McCoy that could only be rivaled by those in movies like Remember the Titans or Miracle (I know Miracle is a hockey movie. It still fits here) and the Lions turned back into the Lions that football fans know and love. 

The Chargers dominated total second half yards (483) and time of possession (38:12).  Their first drive of the half was a field goal, but on the next drive, linebacker Melvin Ingram tackled Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford as he threw and linebacker Kyle Emmanuel made the pick.

Nothing came of that drive, but cornerback Patrick Robinson intercepted Stafford again and the Chargers narrowed the score to 21-20 with a 12-yard pass from Rivers to Stevie Johnson (photo, top of story) with four minutes left in the third quarter. 

On the Bolts’ next drive, Ladarius Green (photo, right) caught a 13-yard pass to give the Chargers the lead.  Danny Woodhead ran the ball in for a 33-21 lead with 2:37 left in the game. 

The Lions would score one more touchdown, but the final score would be 33-28.  The Chargers get their first win of the season.  They’ll head to Ohio to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.