After starting the season 5-1 the Chargers now find themselves rapidly falling down the ranks of a competitive AFC after losing three in a row. Yesterday, the Chargers lost their third straight to a mediocre Miami Dolphins team that came into the game with a 4-3 record in an embarrassing 37-0 rout.

Quarterback Philip Rivers, who seemed to be in MVP form at the beginning of the season, could not even climb the Charger’s out of their recent struggles. Rivers had a very subpar performance against a solid Dolphin’s defense. He threw three interceptions and could never sustain a scoring drive to spark the offense that had been so good through the first six weeks.

It did not help that River’s offensive line could not stop the Dolphin’s front four from dominating the line of scrimmage and getting to Rivers. As a result, Rivers never had time to establish himself in the pocket which led to his three interceptions (two to Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes) and another fumble lost. Rivers passed for a season low 138 yards and had a quarterback rating of 31.0 which was his lowest rating in a game since 2007.

In addition, the Chargers offense was unable to convert any opportunities. To start the game, the Chargers had a long drive in which they got into scoring territory, but were unable to convert a short fourth down which led to a Dolphins touchdown on the next possession. Throughout the game, Rivers and the rest of his offense seemed out of sync as they got down big early in a hole they could never get out of.

On the other side, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was able to snap the Dolphins out of their slow starts to games and led them on quick touchdown drives on their first two possesions in which he shredded the Chargers secondary that has been one of the strong points all year. Today they seemed helpless as Tannehill was able to get whatever he wanted; throwing for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

The game was over quick as the Dolphins took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and did not hesitate to stomp down any signs of a comeback from the Chargers. Tannehill found receiver Charles Clay for a six yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter and then running back Lamar Miller had a two yard touchdown run early in the second.

After that, the Chargers never reestablished themselves on either side of the ball and the Dolphins continued their onslaught till the very end dominating the Chargers very easily. Rivers came out of the game in the third quarter to seal the Chargers fate yesterday.

This was a very disappointing showing from the Chargers as they looked to get themselves back in the race in their competitive division with the Broncos and Chiefs. Although it would have been tough to travel to Miami and pick up the win, the Chargers definitely lost a good chance to beat an average team and get back in the playoff hunt. Next week, the Chargers will take on the winless Oakland Raiders in a game that they should win, but they will need to get things together and play like they did early in the season if they want to make the playoffs.