Chargers’ Rivers seeking 100th win
Super rematch is set for tonight
From Journal Wires
CARSON, Calif. — Philip Rivers’ 39 touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos are the most he has thrown against any opponent in his long NFL career.
The 58 sacks he has taken from Von Miller and his predecessors also is a personal record.
When the Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) resume their AFC West rivalry with Denver (3-2) today in the teams’ second meeting of this season , Rivers will be seeking his 100th victory as a starter. He knows almost exactly what to expect from his biannual meeting with the defense he knows better than any other.
But that doesn’t often help the Chargers, who have lost 11 of their past 13 meetings with the Broncos.
“You can almost get to where you overthink things,” Rivers said. “You overthink, ‘Well, they know that we know this about them, and we know they know this, so maybe we need to do this.’ … It seems more so this team just because of the scheme they’ve kept intact for a while.
“You get in on Monday morning, and you can write up every player on the defense, and you know what they play before you even look at a tape. And they can do the same for us. But you can get to where you overthink things. It’s like, ‘No, we’re going to trust what we do. Here’s what our plan is, and let’s just go.’”
The Broncos beat LA in the teams’ season opener last month on a last-second blocked field goal try by Shelby Harris, but they’ve headed in different directions recently.
Denver has lost two of its past three with a sputtering offense — coordinated by former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy — that has scored only one touchdown in each of those games and hasn’t managed to crack 16 points in the past month. Inconsistent quarterback Trevor Siemian is likely to be without three injured receivers : Emmanuel Sanders, Cody Latimer and Isaiah McKenzie.
“It’s pathetic right now,” running back C.J. Anderson said.
The Broncos also are likely to have a substitute right tackle
in place of the injured Menelik Watson, which could mean good things for the Chargers’ dynamic duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The pass-rushing stars have combined for 13 sacks in six games to back the Chargers’ solid pass defense.
TOP GAME: The rematch of the Super Bowl with a historic finish doesn’t have much of a super look right now.
The Patriots are 4-2 and have not cruised in any game, mainly because of a leaky defense. The Falcons are 3-2 and easily could have just one win.
Still, NBC must be salivating to have Tom Brady vs. Matt Ryan, particularly with both teams vulnerable when they don’t have the ball.
And, of course, each side has memories — joyful and painful — of New England’s rally from a 25-point second-half hole to win the championship in February.
Atlanta comes off blowing a 17-point lead and losing at home to Miami. New England was down 14-0 at the Jets before rallying to win.
“We obviously haven’t played as well as we’re capable of through five games,” Ryan says. “But we’re certainly close.”
COWBOYS: All-Pro center Travis Frederick ihas started a foundation — Travis Frederick’s Blocking Out Hunger Foundation — to provide support for inner-city and low-income children throughout the DFW area who struggle with hunger.
Frederick will spend Monday, his only off day next week, raising money for it. Frederick’s ‘Steak-Out for Hunger presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb’ will take place Monday night in Dallas at an event that raised more than $200,000 last year.