A Win For the Chargers

The Chargers held their home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon in a 38-14 blowout that surprised Charger fans everywhere.

Following a devastating lost in their season opener in rural Kansas City in which they blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter to eventually lose to the Chiefs in overtime, the Chargers rallied together in week 2 to get their season back on track. The Bolts dominated the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on their home turf at Qualcomm Stadium in a runaway 38-14 victory, despite another disheartening setback.

The Chargers came out firing on the attack posting a first half 21-point lead driven by an energized Philip Rivers offense, while simultaneously shutting out the opponent in an impressive defensive stand. Any other NFL team’s fans would sit back and relax after their team obtained such a lead, but Chargers fans know better, with a history defined by “choke.” Luckily, this week acted as an exception with the Chargers maintaining their three-touchdown margin and even tacking on three more points to that in the process to win by 24 and earn their first tally in the win category.

While the “dub” was a relief for loyal Bolt fans all around, like most Charger success, it came with a catch. In the first quarter, Danny Woodhead, a key offensive weapon at the flex position in San Diego’s offense, suffered a serious knee injury after taking a hit on a short crossing route. Woodhead was carted off the field immediately and scratched from the lineup indefinitely. The speedy star is scheduled for an MRI, but early medical reports assume an ACL tear which would mean major surgery and an early exit from the season for Woodhead.

This is already the second season-ending injury for the Chargers with their pro-bowl wide-out Keenan Allen falling to an identical injury last week. These two are widely considered the top options in Ken Whisenhunt’s explosive offensive, so it seems as if the Chargers’ playoff hopes are already being put into question, unless other young talent on the roster can step up and save them from yet another depressing seasonal outcome.

It certainly was great to see such positivity radiating from the Chargers’ play despite these setbacks though. If Coach Mike McCoy and his veteran QB can rally their team once more in the games to follow, this could just turn out to be the Cinderella story loyal San Diegans have been waiting for in the 55 years of their football franchise.

This week was either a glimmer of hope or just another tradition beating of the lowly-rated Jaguars. Regardless, teams that lose their first two games have a 12 percent chance of making the playoffs while teams that start at a split 1-1 record increase their odds to 25 percent, making this win pivotal following the rules of statistics.