San Diego Chargers Playoff Postmortem: Tough Loss, But the Future Looks Bright

The future looks bright for Philip Rivers & the Chargers  -  SD Chargers

As many of you regular Reno Dispatch readers undoubtedly anticipated, here's my postmortem on the Denver Broncos' 24-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. First and foremost, congrats to the Broncos for a hard-fought win. While San Diego fell behind early and got pushed around for much of the game, the team characteristically did not quit and made a hell of an effort to get back in it late in the fourth quarter. But Denver prevailed.

Denver's offense played about as well as expected, scoring 24 points. But the Broncos' defense played better than expected, holding the Chargers to 17. That was the game's biggest surprise. Credit must be given to that group, especially given the fact that it was playing without Bronco Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller. Denver had its aging but still gifted cornerback Champ Bailey back from injury, and that helped some. But the Broncos' somewhat maligned defense was clearly playing with a chip on its shoulder. 

Denver was able to pressure Charger Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers more than most teams have this year. San Diego's overachieving offensive line, which as usual was banged up, had arguably its worst game of the season.

No excuses for the Bolts' loss, Denver played pretty well, but this game was close without the Chargers' best running back contributing much. San Diego, which evolved into a very solid running team this season, missed Ryan Mathews, whose bad ankle prevented him from playing after the first few drives. That was the deciding factor in the game. Mathews had a hell of a year, finishing second in the AFC in rushing. He was, besides Rivers, the team's most valuable player this season. Without him, the Chargers just could not run the football effectively.

Despite Mathews' absence, this team was still just a dropped pass or defensive third-and-long stop or easy interception away from beating Denver again at Denver. Some of the drops by San Diego's receivers were absolute killers. Future-hall-of-fame tight end Antonio Gates dropped a perfect Rivers throw across the middle, and Gates' understudy, Ladarius Green, also dropped a perfect pass in stride that would have put the Chargers deep in enemy territory. 

Having said that, it is also true that San Diego's cornerbacks were exposed in this game for the mediocre players they are. This group played better the last five games of the season, but Shareece Wright had an impossibly easy pic opportunity that he just flat-out dropped. And no one could really hang with Denver's all-world slot receiver Wes Welker, which I predicted before the game started. The Bolts' pass rushers also didn't put enough pressure on Manning, obviously.

Adding to that insult, Charger kicker Nick Novak, who had a great year, missed a field goal that he usually makes. But what hurts the most is the fact that San Diego's defense could not stop Denver on a crucial 3rd and 17 late in the game. If the D had made that seemingly routine stop, Denver would have punted and it was pretty evident that San Diego's offense, which had found its rhythm, would have scored to tie the game. Credit to Denver for picking up that crucial first down.

While San Diego also had too many encroachment penalties (five), the referees in this game were a joke. Peyton's jumpy hard count could have easily been penalized, several times. It is very subjective, that call, but the zebras also called a pick (illegal screen by a receiver) against San Diego but curiously overlooked several even more obvious picks by Denver's receivers. No sour grapes, just a fact as plain as day.

Rivers, who had one of his best years, did his best on Sunday with pretty relentless pressure. He never quits. Rivers made some brilliant passes, including two for touchdowns, and he had no pics on a windy afternoon. Yes, Manning outplayed him, but Manning had a lot more time to work. 

Chargers receiver Keenan Allen also shined in the fourth quarter with two TD catches and nearly 150 yards receiving overall. The offense was gaining confidence quickly, Denver did not have an answer for Allen, but again, the defense could not give the team the one stop it really needed. That inability to make a third-and-long stop will haunt this team - especially defensive coordinator John Pagano - for a while, and it should.

By the way, as an aside mostly for you Charger fans, it was interesting to see former Charger cornerback Quentin Jammer come in for injured Bronco cornerback Chris Harris and subsequently get burned repeatedly, and badly, by the Bolts' sensational rookie wide receiver Allen. It was both amusing and painful to see Jammer get toasted again. It brought back some painful memories. 

As mediocre as San Diego's corners are this year, and with all respect to Jammer, who had some great years in San Diego, it was the right move sending him on his way. He's lost more than a step.

Bottom line? There is much room for optimism in Chargerland. The team, which won a playoff game on the road against a heavily favored Bengals club that had not lost at home all season, has a smart and indefatigable new coach in Mike McCoy and one of the finest quarterbacks in the league in Rivers, who was unfairly maligned the past two years. He showed this year that he is an elite quarterback who only needs an average offensive line to do his thing. In the entire league, only Peyton's numbers were better this season. 

Beyond Rivers, San Diego is not known for its talent the way it was a few short years ago, but the team does have some solid veterans and good young players. And what this Charger squad lacked this year in skill it often made up for with heart and a never-say-die attitude. It's a cliche', but it's true: this is a scrappy group that is far easier to root for than, say, the Kansas City Chiefs, who are loaded with Pro Bowlers but lack heart and at times choke on their collective resume'.

The young Charger stars to keep an eye on next season include pass rusher Melvin Ingram (if he can stay healthy), and of course Allen, who is the best offensive rookie in the NFL this year. And Green, too, despite his monumental drop on Sunday, is going to be in the Pro Bowl, soon. 

San Diego also has a rebuilt offensive line that was coached well and played well most of the year, even with a bunch of untimely injuries and players that will never make any Pro Bowls. 

What do the Bolts need to win a Super Bowl? A little more luck (no, not Andrew), a little better pass rush, a little more explosiveness in the kickoff and punt return games, and, mostly, better cornerbacks. But San Diego may have both starting wide receivers - Danario Alexander and Malcolm Floyd - when camp opens next summer. That is, if Malcolm doesn't choose to retire with that nagging neck injury. Neither will beat out Allen for the starting job now, though. Not a chance. 

Keenan is this team's newest and brightest star. He and Rivers have a chemistry that will produce huge numbers, and perhaps more and deeper playoff runs, in the next few years. A Super Bowl is now a much more realistic expectation. This team has most of the pieces to make that happen, and the right front office to complete the puzzle.

NFL Playoffs: Has Ron Jaworski Replaced Eli Manning as the Guy San Diego Charger Fans Most Love to Hate?

ESPN blowhard Ron "Jaws" Jaworski

Rumor has it that, right about now, an impassioned group of San Diego Charger fans have gathered up their torches and pitchforks and are headed to ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski's New Jersey home for a friendly little confab. Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who now offers loud, long-winded and sometimes painfully off-the-mark takes on the National Football League, has made a proper fool of himself this week in his hyperbolic and disrespectful analysis of the Chargers, who play the Cincinnati Bengals in a first-round playoff game on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

No big surprise, really. Since last summer, Jaworski, whose nickname appropriately is “Jaws” - he never knows when to shut his mouth - has consistently dismissed the Chargers and their five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers. Jaworski said in July that Rivers was the 17th best QB in the league, and this morning he twisted the dagger in the Charger nation's back by saying that Sunday's game will be turnover-prone Cincy quarterback Andy Dalton's "coming out party.”

Philip Rivers (right) and Andy Dalton - AP/Denis Poroy

Jaworski went on to say today that the Chargers-Bengals game would "not be close" and that Cincinnati would win "in a rout." Jaworski, who also absurdly once said that Chargers' legendary Hall of Famer Dan Fouts will never be considered a great quarterback, made no mention today of Rivers in his game preview. Not a word. 

Jaworski didn't acknowledge how wrong he was about the San Diego quarterback last summer, or the fact that what Rivers accomplished this year at the quarterback position was only bettered by the Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning, who had far more weapons, a better offensive line, and a better defense. Rivers is of course having a phenomenal year and is, by any measure, a better player than Dalton, who threw 20 interceptions this year compared to Rivers’ 11. 

It's one thing to predict the game's outcome. But in his one-sided prediction, Jaworski rightly praised the Bengals’ defense but inexplicably said nothing about what the Bolts have done offensively. He ignored not only Rivers' stellar year, but also the fact that Chargers' running back Ryan Mathews has had a dominant season and finished second in the AFC in rushing with 1,254 yards. Only Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs was better.

Jaworski obviously knows he was wrong about Rivers but evidently doesn't have the maturity to admit it on the air. Like a spoiled child who did something stupid but won't own up, he's clearly grown a gnarly chip on his shoulder about San Diego. Which begs the question: Has Jaworski now replaced Eli Manning as the person Charger fans most love to hate?

Ron "Jaws" Jaworski stopping pain cold

Jaworski, a pretty good player in his day and a onetime Pro Bowler (1980) whose career numbers aren't nearly as impressive as Rivers, fails to understand that Rivers played last year and the year before behind arguably the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the NFL -- and still managed to throw 26 TD passes vs. just 15 interceptions. This year he threw 32 TD passes and just 11 pics.

Rivers was pressured every single snap the last two years. He had absolutely no time to work in the pocket. He was rattled. It was tough to watch. And yet former Chargers coach Norv Turner inexplicably kept trying to throw the deep passes. 

Astute football analysts like ESPN's Trent Dilfer know that Rivers has always been better than the 17th best QB in the league. This season, he lost both Danario Alexander and Malcolm Floyd, his two starting wide receivers, at the beginning of the season, but new Chargers Coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Mike Whisenhunt changed the scheme just enough and the O line improved just enough to allow him to do his thing and return to his elite, Pro Bowl form.

Seeing the effort the team was making to upgrade the O line, I predicted this would happen back in July. Here's the thing: You just don’t go from allegedly 17th to second best QB in the NFL in one season after playing in the league this long. Rivers didn’t get that much better in one season, he already was that good. It is a team sport. 

Rivers "improved" because his line is actually blocking for him now and he's working in a smarter offensive scheme that stresses crossing patterns and other quick routes than don’t require as much time to develop. Philip’s accuracy this year is off the charts. He leads the NFL with a nearly 70 percent completion percentage. 

And despite what Jaworski and some other shallow pundits have suggested, Rivers was not that bad last year. Bad QBs don’t throw 26 TD passes and just 15 pics. Yep, he fumbled too many times, thanks to the constant pressure. But he still managed to play pretty well on a what was a pretty bad team.

To compare, look at Eli Manning this year. Eli, a two-time Super Bowl winner, was on a pretty bad Giants team this year and his numbers were far worse than Rivers has ever put up. This year, Eli had 18 TD passes and TWENTY SEVEN interceptions. Are you kidding me? Now THAT is a bad year for a quarterback.

I never said that the Chargers will absolutely win on Sunday. It will be a tough game, probably in the snow. The Bengals have arguably the best wide receiver in the league right now in A.J. Green. And they have a solid defense, perhaps the league’s best. But Jaworski needs to either shut up or pay Rivers and the Chargers the respect they've earned this year.