The first offensive possession of the Chargers’ 2016 preseason was a thing of beauty. After that it dissolved in to a fairly ugly affair that resulted in a 27-10 Titans win at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The Bolts gave fans an appetizer of just how good their offense can be this year. Philip Rivers completed two of his three passes (the third was dropped), one of them to Keenan Allen for a first down and the other to running back Melvin Gordon, who turned and carried it 44 yards for his first NFL touchdown. He got a fantastic block from wide receiver Dontrelle Inman inside the 10 yard line and ran over a safety to get over the goal line.
The catch and run was impressive considering Gordon is coming off microfracture surgery and has been dogged by questions about the health of his knee throughout training camp.
After that the Chargers first team offense sat down and the backups only mustered three more points. But then the Bolts gave fans an appetizer of just how bad their defense can be this year, especially against the run.
The starting D allowed a field goal on Tennessee’s opening drive, then forced a 3-and-out. But after their backups came in the Titans turned in to the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers. DeMarco Murray took off on a 71-yard touchdown run to put Tennessee up 10-7 and start the onslaught.
On their next possession the Titans ran nine plays, seven of them runs by 2nd round pick and 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, to move 63 yards for another score. Henry got his first NFL TD with a 6-yard. Tennessee went to the half up 17-10.
In the 3rd quarter Zach Mettenberger came in and reminded Titans fans why they were so happy to get rid of him. The former Tennessee starter threw an awful pass that was picked off by rookie safety Kevin Byard. Mettenberger finished with just two completions in eight attempts.
The Bolts got the ball right back when linebackers Josh Perry and Nick Dzubnar sandwiched Titans wideout Tre McBride, forcing a fumble that was recovered by safety Dexter McCoil. That was the only turnover the Bolts forced.
Two possessions later Mettenberger was replaced at quarterback by Mike Bercovici, an undrafted rookie from Arizona State. He tried to force a ball over the middle and had it picked off by linebacker Justin Staples. That turnover set up another big Tennessee run.
On the very next play Bishop Sankey cut back and went 41 yards for a touchdown, the third Titan running back to score in the game. Keep in mind in the entire 2015 season the Chargers had two running backs score a TD (Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown, who is no longer with the team).
Tennessee finished with 288 yards on 33 carries, an average of 8.7 yards per carry. Of course that set social media ablaze with people wondering if unsigned rookie Joey Bosa, the defensive lineman the Chargers drafted 3rd overall in this year's NFL Draft, would have made a difference.
At least the Bolts know what areas they have to work on when they get back to practice on Monday in Murphy Canyon.
