What a rollercoaster of a game! I'm still unsure if I'm allowed to be angry about the team's slow start, or if a poor first quarter and a half is more a result of the offseason, lockout and influx of new players on the team.
The Chargers scored 17 points on offense and shut out the Vikings on defense in the second half, led by the Antwan Barnes and Takeo Spikes, among others.
Mike Tolbert finished the game as the only Charger to cross the goal line with the ball in his hands, which seems odd. Antonio Gates finished as the team's leading receiver with 74 receiving yards, but Ryan Mathews (who didn't fumble!) showed himself to be the team's best big play threat. He paired a 21 yard run with a 37 yard catch to force the Vikings defense to focus on him whenever he was on the field.
The Bolts' defense did a great job of containing Adrian Peterson and harassing Donovan McNabb all game. McNabb finished the game completing less than 50% of his passes, 2 sacks and an interception. The only way the Vikings offense could seemingly get anything going was when Donovan would run for big gains on broken plays.
Special Teams is still a major issue, but perhaps not as big of one as it was last year (because of the rule change).
We'll go more in-depth this out analysis of this Chargers victory on Monday. For now, go on and celebrate the Chargers being undefeated and leaders of the AFC West.