FSH: ON THE COVER

November 23rd, 2009 9:00pm PST

This Week on the Cover….

(AP Photo/By Jack Dempsey)

The Bolts are Super-Charged!



For many folks on the west coast, this was the game of the week; Chargers against the Broncos. It was hyped to be a showdown, but quickly turned into a meltdown and then a proverbial "stay down."

This one started out competitive, but the Chargers stayed the course throughout the first half, chipping away at the Broncos defense to find many different faces on offense to make plays; Legadu Naanee, Mike Tolbert, and Jacob Hester. In the end it was the old reliables" quarterback Philip Rivers (145 yards passing, 1-Td) and LaDanian Tomlinson (73 yards rushing, 1-Td) who took care of business on Sunday.

Rivers started with the hot hand completing 13 of 14 passes in the first half, then it was a barrage of running backs (Tomlinson, Tolbert, Hester, and Sproles) that carved the Broncos defense for 203 yards on the ground, including 155 yards in the second half.

The Broncos really struggled on offense to keep this one close with an ailing and ineffective Kyle Orton. Quarterback Chris Simms started the contest, but could not muster much on offense forcing Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to roll the dice and insert a less than 100 percent Orton. Even after a quick start with a couple of completions, the implosion on Sunday for Denver was complete with a Knowshon Moreno fumble at the Chargers one yard line late in the first half.

The Broncos took the fight into the second half, but with half of a quarterback and desparation in the air the Chargers seized control and put this one away following a huge gamble and critical error by McDaniels. Trailing 13-3, a botched onside kick set the table for the Chargers and the feeding frenzy began with a one yard dive for six by Tomlinson. Down big the Broncos could never recover and were seemingly put down for good with a series of early 4th quarter field-goals by Nate Kaeding.

The Chargers are now bolting fast into the playoff picture and super bowl talk, while the Bronco's surprise season is quickly slipping away. The Chargers will prepare for a very win-able week 12 matchup with Kansas City, while the Broncos will try to stop the bleeding and play host to the Giants on Thursday.

A true tale of two teams going in opposite directions and this week doesn't look like much will change?

Check back everyday for more football!