On Monday Night, the San Diego Chargers traveled to face the Arizona Cardinals in their season opener. The Chargers shook off a shaky first half in which they trailed 6-3 at halftime by starting the third quarter with a convincing touchdown drive led by quarterback Philip Rivers who went 6-6 and 82 yards. To cap the momentum changing drive off, he threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Floyd. The Chargers eventually increased their lead to 17-6 by the end of the third quarter.

However, as many Chargers fans have become accustomed to, they blew their lead in the fourth quarter after Cardinals receiver John Brown caught his first touchdown of his career. This gave the Cardinals a 18-17 lead which remained the final score.

Although the Chargers brought back memories of last year when they blew a 21-point lead to the Houston Texans, there were many positive signs that could encourage fans for the future games of this season. Chargers second round draft pick in the last draft, linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, had a stellar professional debut including a blocked punt and forcing a fumble. It seems that if he can stay consistent he can be a dominant force on the defense for this season and years to come. This could be huge as the Chargers have a strong need for a commanding pass rusher. In addition, the Chargers’ first-round pick Jason Verrett (cornerback) also had a solid game which could be a big help to their newly revamped secondary.

Offensively, they were shut down in the first half, only scoring off of a field goal from Nick Novak. This was not a huge surprise as the Cardinals had a very stingy defense last year that nearly carried them into the playoffs. Although they had a few key injuries in the offseason, the Cardinals defense was certainly no easy task. The Chargers defense kept up to par with the Cardinals by only allowing 6 points in the first half, keeping the game close.

As the second half began, the Chargers offense seemed to get things together as they scored 14 points off of two touchdowns scored by Floyd and running back Ryan Matthews. Meanwhile, the defense kept up their strong play and held the Cardinals scoreless. The Chargers seemed to have all the momentum in their favor until Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer led his team on a key scoring drive that ended with a 5-yard pass to Stefan Taylor to make it 17-12. The Cardinals attempted a two-point conversion so that a field goal would tie the game but failed.

At this point, all Chargers fans started to get that feeling that they could be in for another disappointing Monday Night showing. The Chargers got the ball back and were working it down the field. It seemed that they might respond by at least kicking a field goal to give them a bit more breathing room. However, poor communication and a fumbled snap put the Chargers out of field goal range and forced them to punt back to the Cardinals.

With 6:50 left in the game, the Cardinals offense took the field looking to score a touchdown and steal a win. They did just that as Palmer led his team down the field. This drive included a couple key third down conversions including a long run by Palmer.

With 2:25 left in the game, Palmer found Brown who scored from 13 yards out. The Cardinals again failed the two-point conversion and gave the ball back to Rivers. However, it did not matter and the Chargers offense failed to score.

This was a heartbreaker as the Chargers had the game in reach and could have stolen a tough road win. The Chargers will look to rebound next week with an even tougher game against the reigning Super Bowl champions, Seattle Seahawks. If the Chargers again get off to a slow start next Sunday, they will be shown no mercy in what could be a second straight loss. This week, in practice, the Chargers will need to fix things up a bit and be more prepared for the Seahawks then they were on Monday night.