British sports fans are usually entertained by low scoring soccer matches. They seemed to enjoy a high scoring NFL matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Chargers at Wembley Stadium in London Sunday.
Eight touchdowns were scored by eight different players. A combined 69 points, as the Saints won 37-32.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees seemed to get the revenge he wanted. He threw three touchdown passes against the team that gave up on him in 2005. A 12 yard scoring strike to Devery Henderson gave New Orleans the early lead at 9-3. Lance Moore, and Mark Campbell also caught TD passes, as the Saints led 37-20 in the fourth quarter.
But Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers led a furious comeback. After recovering an onside kick with about nine minutes left, Rivers and Vincent Jackson connected on a touchdown pass that pulled them to within 37-30. They got the ball back with just over four minutes to go, and were in position to tie the game when Rivers pass was intercepted by Jonathan Vilma.
The Chargers' first regular season game out of the country was a disappointment. 134 yards in penalties, and for the second straight week the defense couldn't register a sack. They wasted a brilliant game by LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran for 105 yards, and caught a touchdown pass.
They come back to San Diego after a winless ten day roadtrip. They're now 3-5 with the bye week coming. This 37-32 loss leaves a team that was a Super Bowl contender to start the season, as a Super Bowl pretender half way through the season.
