This time there would be no letdown.
Much like they did a week prior in Kansas City, the Chargers got out to a big lead in their home opener against the Jaguars. But instead of allowing Jacksonville back in it San Diego put the hammer down and rolled to a 38-14 win, improving to 1-1 on the season.
Sure, the Jags are nowhere near as good as the Chiefs are but it was nice to see Chargers Head Coach Mike McCoy not go in to conservative mode and let his team keep doing what was so obviously working for a while.
Much like they did against the Chiefs, the Chargers scored a touchdown on their first possession and they did it by setting the tone for the rest of the day. San Diego went 75 yards in eight plays, only two of them passes, a drive that ended with Melvin Gordon scoring from the three yard line to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead.
Much like they did against the Chiefs, the Bolts defense followed suit with an inspired early effort. After trading punts cornerback Casey Hayward made a juggling interception of a Blake Bortles pass to set SD up inside Jags territory. Hayward intercepted two passes on the day.
Rivers went to work, hitting on all four of his passes, the last one a 7-yard TD to Travis Benjamin. The first Chargers score of Benjamin's career out the Bolts ahead 14-0.
The Jaguars missed a long field goal and once again the Chargers offense out together a score drive, this time with Rivers hitting Antonio Gates for three yards, a touchdown, and a 21-0 lead. But that's the margin the Chargers had in the second half in Missouri so fans were still feeling trepidation. But much like they did NOT do against the Chiefs, the Chargers kept on attacking.
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Most of the fan base's hesitance dissipated in the 3rd quarter. Rivers found wide receiver Tyrell Williams and the kid from Western Oregon ran 44 yards, breaking a couple of tackles inside the 10, on his way to another score. The 28-0 lead seemed like it would be enough but just to be sure they tacked on another.
Near the end of the 3rd quarter Rivers lofted a 45-yard scoring strike to Benjamin, the kind of deep pass we haven't seen from the Chargers in a while, to make it a 35-0 game.
The Chargers defense forced three turnovers and did not allow a score until the 4th quarter when they were just trying to get the game over with. The only negative for the Bolts is the loss of Danny Woodhead, who had to be helped off the field after suffering a knee injury. The extent of the injury is not yet known.
The Chargers finished 38-14.
San Diego takes its 1-1 record back on the road next week when they face the 0-2 Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
