Chargers beat Chiefs 27-17, but get screwed by refs.

by JeremyBeckett on Nov 1, 2011 8:32 AM PDT

Right before halftime at Arrowhead last night, the Chargers tied the game on a touchdown pass to Antonio Gates. After a rocky start, the Chargers managed to go to the locker room tied up at 10.

The Chargers then outscored the Chiefs in the second half 17 to 7, en route to their fifth victory of the season . Rivers fumbled a snap near the end of regulation nearly costing the bolts their third turnover on the day, however Norv Turner called a timeout before the snap. This moves the Chargers to 5-2, on top of the AFC west.

That would have been, and should have been the paragraphs to sum up the evening, except the refs intervened.

The Chargers are amongst the leagues most penalized teams, and that has to be adressed, but how?
Really, what did Gates do wrong on his touchdown catch? He was penalized for running an excellent route, making a nice grab and a touchdown.

The week prior against the Jets, Jammer played outstanding pass coverage, just to be flagged twice on the game winning drives.

The Chargers could very easily be sitting here 6-1. That 10 point swing at before half last night inevitably cost the Chargers the game.
Why was Norv Turner's timeout before the bad snap ignored near the end of regulation?

Why was the blatant defensive holding on Rivers second interception not called?

So here the bolts sit 4-3 thanks in part to the refs. All the " football experts" and analysts are crowning the Chiefs the Afc West Champs, and calling the Chargers chokers again!

However , the Chargers are the only team with a legitimate quarterback, and dont just downright embarrass the AFC West in the playoffs. Their (4-4) playoff record under Turner is respectable.

The Chiefs are viewed by other playoff contenders as a bye week, and get steamrolled at home. The Raiders and Broncos don't even know who their coach , quarterback or general manager will be three weeks down the road.

So guess what Bolts fans , the division is the Chargers again. Don't let a 4-3 record by the Chiefs fool you. After next week, their schedule gets considerably tougher.

The Steelers, Giants and Packers have won the Superbowl after 9-7 regular seasons, and to be quite honest, I think 9-7 will get the Chargers into the playoffs this year, so dont give up yet.

Rivers is back, and he finally found his groove. 369 yards, and some brilliant passes, were overshadowed by the three turnovers, and his Touchdown pass was overshadowed by a horrible call
I know, but he's back.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Bolts From The Blue community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bolts From The Blue editors or SB Nation.

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Although I agree..................

some of the officiating was questionable they seemed to be calling it both ways very consistently. I can’t remember the last time I saw a home team have that many false start penalties in their stadium.

The offensive pass interference penalties were strange, mostly because you just don’t see them that much.

That being said if we don’t get a false start or illegal hands to the face right after the offensive pass interference on Gates Novack makes that FG before the end of the half.

Mcneill was just TERRIBLE! He must have had 5 or 6 false starts and an illegal hands to the face. One of the worst nights I’ve ever seen from Mcneill.

Also…………we got 4 turnovers! How often does that happen? And we just couldn’t convert.

We didn’t deserve to win that game regardless of the officiating! We were bad!

I also am not sure I concur that Rivers is back. He played terribly in the first half! 2 interceptions, and it should have been 3 (Flowers just failed to hold on to a bad ball thrown downfield to Jackson). So he had 2 turnovers in the first half and fumbled the snap in the closing seconds when the game was won. He played better from the beginning of the 3rd to the end of the 4th…………………but 1/2 of 1 game isn’t going to get it done. 11 interceptions and 3 fumbles in 8 games won’t get it done.

by J Korber on Nov 1, 2011 9:17 AM PDT reply actions 2 recs

I'm curious

about the association between questionable calls and false starts. Of all the bad calls I’ve seen officials make, false start calls aren’t generally the ones they miss.

by justincup on Nov 4, 2011 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions

I just meant the home team was heavily penalized........

It didn’t seem like the refs were only going one way with it. I thought there were several calls in SDs favor including the Mccluster fumble.

by J Korber on Nov 5, 2011 7:45 AM PDT up reply actions

is this a transcript from next year's game?

Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
Bolts from the Blue

by Superduperboltman on Nov 1, 2011 9:46 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

One small correction

The ’10 Packers & ’07 Giants were both 10-6, and the year the Steelers won it as a 6 seed, they were 11-5, I think.

The officiating was pretty bad, that offensive PI was baffling.

13.

Grossman: Sup, you insulin needing bitch! The sex cannon has arrived! Now get the hell out of my locker room, you chinless mother fucker!

by Wiedmann on Nov 1, 2011 11:24 AM PDT reply actions

An opinion from the other side

The refs called a terrible game last night. However it was on both sides of the ball. I agree Gates shouldn’t have had his touchdown called back but I wasn’t calling the game. I DON’T believe it was all the ref’s fault. The chargers had too many penalties (actual ones, not phantom calls) and the the so called Pro Bowl QB couldn’t handle a snap when it counted. Even after all of that, those were not the reasons the Chargers lost. They lost the game in OT. The almighty Rivers couldn’t get the offense going in OT and the Chiefs made them go 3 and out. Then, the lowly Chiefs (as you like to see them) put together a long drive after a punt with a net yardage of 63 yards. The bolts defense couldn’t stop them. Kick up and good, Chiefs win! Any good team NEVER leaves it up to the refs to decide a game. The Chargers decided their own fate and Arrowhead bites them in the tail again.

To an insane world, would not the sane man seem insane?

by Chiefsfan6242 on Nov 1, 2011 11:47 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs

There were bad calls both ways

McCluster was down but the refs gave the Chargers the ball in what should have been easy scoring position. The Cassell “fumble” was very close and I was surprised that they overturned the call on the field. There was an angle on the Brinkley catch (down near the one) that to me looked like it was not a catch.

Injuries and bad calls go both ways. Rivers has to not fumble the snap and they win. Its time to man up and win some games and stop being nancy boys with all the excuses.

by JeromeB on Nov 1, 2011 12:16 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

I guess that non-fumble by Dexter McCluster that was ruled a fumble

Was the refs screwing you over too?

by Tomahawk29 on Nov 1, 2011 4:00 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

it wasn't actually confirmed as a fumble

not enough evidence to overturn the call on the field though which was why it stands…..

MIssing SD from PDX

by Dude52089 on Nov 1, 2011 5:12 PM PDT up reply actions

The ball didn't begin coming out until Dexter's back was on the turf. That much is clear.

It was an awful call. But I’m not worried about it since the refs are graded now.

I eat nails for breakfast, tacks for snacks, and I sh*t nickel.

by SupremeChief on Nov 1, 2011 6:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Whatever.

He was flat on his back before the ball came loose.

by Tomahawk29 on Nov 1, 2011 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions

While i agree that in my opinion it probably wasn't a fumble

the rule does state you need indisputable evidence to prove he wasn’t losing it when he was going down. The ref got that call right because we can’t see whether its already moving or not.

MIssing SD from PDX

by Dude52089 on Nov 2, 2011 8:28 AM PDT up reply actions

You need to watch it again.

He had both hands securing the ball to his chest when he was down. It was clear as day.

by Tomahawk29 on Nov 2, 2011 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions

Really?

Obviously you saw a replay that none of the rest of us (including the referee) were able to see. Congrats on your job working in the ESPN truck.

by justincup on Nov 4, 2011 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Charger fan here.

That was NOT a fumble. I would have bet $100 dollars that it was overturned. I would have bet more, but I’ve watched the NFL long enough not to trust the refs to make the right call. That was easily the worst call of the day. Sure, Gates’ call was pretty bad. But Dexter’s call was a no brainer to me.

by SDreal on Nov 4, 2011 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Got screwed by the refs?

Penalties aside I think when a ref goes under the hood three times in a game and gets it wrong all three times, that’s a bigger gaffe then you piddly defensive holding etc.

"Success is never ending, failure is never final."

by GenericBrand on Nov 1, 2011 5:00 PM PDT reply actions

You're just being ridiculous if you think all three reviews were wrong.

Bolts from the Blue // "Go for the throat, Norval." - Jim Rome
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Nov 1, 2011 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions

You're right because he actually reviewed four and got one right.

The Battle TD wasn’t a TD. But McCluster was down, Cassel’s throw was going forward and Brinkley put the ball on the ground on the 2 point play. Nothing ridiculous there.

"Success is never ending, failure is never final."

by GenericBrand on Nov 2, 2011 3:32 AM PDT up reply actions

The Cassel "throw" play happened the same way to Rivers in one of the Raider games last year.

That’s just how that play is called now. While I believe McCluster was down, you can’t actually see that definitively. And on Brinkley’s catch the ball never touched the ground.

Bolts from the Blue // "Go for the throat, Norval." - Jim Rome
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Nov 2, 2011 9:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Brinkley's catch

The two point conversion was good not doubt. The catch that I question is the one that got the Chargers down near the goal line. They didn’t review the play so the Chiefs were not getting “screwed over” in miy mind but there was one angle that you could see the ball hit the ground and to me it looked like it moved.

Either way I don’t think the officiating was the deciding factor in the game.

by JeromeB on Nov 2, 2011 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions