Rivers Shines As Chargers Beat Chiefs

April 8, 2012
by Ross Everett

The San Diego Chargers bounced back nicely from their Monday Night Football loss to Denver last week, opening a 20-0 halftime lead before coasting to a 37-7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Chargers\’ quarterback Phillip Rivers passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Running back Ladanian Tomlinson ran for a season high 71 yards as San Diego evened their record at 3-3.

The Chargers easily covered the NFL pointspread as -6 road favorites. It was only the second pointspread cover of the year for San Diego, who moved their ATS record to 2-4. Kansas City dropped to 2-5 against the spread.

After the game, QB Rivers suggested that the loss to Denver was a turning point for his team:

\”Last week, we felt like we made progress. We had the attitude we were looking for, focus, but we didn\’t win. But we knew we got better.\”

Tomlinson broke off one of his most impressive runs of the year on the Chargers first touchdown drive, a 31 yard pickup that he said lifted the team\’s spirits and led to the easy victory:

\”It kind of got us going. It was something we needed and it was a big play for us. It was a staple of our offense. It\’s been around for years, old power. It was perfectly blocked and was just a great job of execution.\”

The Chiefs continued to struggle on their home field, which at one point was considered one of the toughest venues in the league for visiting teams. Chiefs\’ nose tackle Ron Edwards lamented this home field struggle:

\”We want to win for the home fans, for us, for everyone out there watching,\” nose tackle Ron Edwards said. \”It\’s real painful.\”

Rivers pointed to the Chiefs\’ legacy of home field dominance in celebrating the win:

\”Any time you come to Kansas City and win, it\’s good. We talked about getting on a roll and you\’ve got to win one first before you can. Hopefully, this is something we can build on.\”

The Chargers return home to take on their hated rivals, the Oakland Raiders. They\’ll travel to play the New York Giants the following week before returning home to face the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15. Kansas City will enjoy a bye week before returning to action on November 8 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their next opportunity for a home victory will come on November 15 against the Oakland Raiders.

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