SAN DIEGO (AP) -When Vincent Jackson swung his foot at the New York Jets’ challenge flag with 3 minutes left, every fan in the stadium felt his frustration.
The San Diego Chargers were just about finished kicking away another playoff opportunity.
San Diego (13-4) made its latest ignominious exit from the NFL postseason Sunday, wasting numerous scoring opportunities and bending just enough defensively in the second half of the New York Jets’ 17-14 victory in the AFC divisional playoffs.
The second-seeded AFC West champions hadn’t lost in their last 11 games since mid-October, yet this defeat didn’t even seem to be much of a surprise to the fans who grumbled nervously through the low-scoring first three quarters before erupting in outright boos in the fourth.
It was San Diego’s first home playoff loss since 2006, but its second in seven seasons to the Jets. The Chargers were the only team with a first-round bye who couldn’t get out of the divisional round.
ore him, for all the game-breaking running of LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, and for all the fierce defenders led by Shawne Merriman, the Chargers are 3-5 in the playoffs over the last seven seasons.
They’ve made just one appearance in the AFC championship game during the tenure of Tomlinson, who just might have finished the last game of his storied career in San Diego with 24 yards on 12 carries – and just 4 yards in the second half.
Yet who deserved the blame for this one? The defense largely shut down the New York running game, not even yielding 100 yards until midway through the fourth quarter. The San Diego offense moved the ball fairly well, outgaining the Jets by 82 yards.
But both units made key mistakes as well. Shonn Greene’s biggest run went straight through the defense’s heart with 7:17 left for a 53-yard TD. Rivers’ first interception in the second half killed a likely scoring drive, and his second set up the Jets’ go-ahead score.
Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding missed three field goals: a short try in the first quarter, a long one right before halftime, and a 40-yarder in the final minutes that would have trimmed the Jets’ lead to seven points.
Jackson, the Chargers’ standout receiver, reacted to Rex Ryan’s challenge of his 37-yard catch by kicking at the red challenge flag, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The foul didn’t end up costing the Chargers, who scored with 2:14 left.
Add A Comment