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San Diego Chargers Tickets- Rivers Lifts Chargers Past Raiders 24-20
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers answered a pair of go-ahead scores by the Raiders by leading two touchdowns drives, and Darren Sproles scored the game-winner on a 5-yard run with 18 seconds left of the game to give the Bolts their 12th straight victory over Oakland, 24-20. Get San Diego Chargers tickets and see Rivers throw a TD pass. Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell gave Oakland a 20-17 lead after he connected with rookie Louis Murphy for a 57-yard touchdown pass with 2:34 left of the game. But the Bolts had Rivers on their side, and the quarterback did not fail to show Raider Nation why San Diego made him their $93 million man. Rivers calmly marched his team down the field for the winning score.
The confident QB stated that no other team in this league has practiced 2-minute drills as much as the Bolts have. He continued to say that he told himself, "Well, we've done this a million times, let's go score. All we need is three." Rivers was six for seven for 79 yards on the winning drive before he handed the ball off to Sproles for the winning TD. Sproles silenced the crowd as he ran right up the middle and into the end zone. Oakland coach Tom Cable said his team played its guts out, but was unable to secure the win. The Raiders took a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski before Rivers drove the Bolts down and gave them the lead with a 15-yard strike to Vincent Jackson for the touchdown.
For much of the night, the Bolts were overmatched and it did not help their running game when rookie guard Louis Vasquez and center Nick Hardwick went down in the third quarter. But the last two drives were the reason why the Chargers gave Rivers a six-year contract extension last month. The quarterback finished the night with 24 for 36 for 252 yards. Chargers coach Norv Turner said his quarterback has handled the pressure to come back from behind consistently and he's done it in real difficult situations. LaDainian Tomlinson, who averaged 119 yards rushing per game against the Raiders, was held to 55 yards on 13 carries. The explosive running back rolled his ankle and was sidelined for most of the game.
Rivers wasn't the only factor in the game for the Chargers. Sproles played well, with two long kickoff returns, five for 43 yards, and the winning TD. Oakland's Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was stunned at the way his team fell apart late in the game. He told the press it was like two completely different games with what they did much of the game and those two drives. The cornerback added that Oakland played well against San Diego's ground attack and against the pass until the fourth quarter, then there were some major breakdowns.
The Raiders were fired up when Murphy's 19-yard touchdown was overturned because the ball came loose as he hit the ground. Oakland had to settle for a 37-yard field goal. Referee Carl Cheffers explained the rule by proclaiming if the player "is going to the ground, he has to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire act of the catch." According to the referee, Murphy lost possession and the ball hit the ground. The play was ruled incomplete.
About the Author This article was sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells San Diego Chargers tickets, as well as many other kinds of sports tickets, concert tickets, special events tickets and theater tickets.
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