Open Thread: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers, 2nd Half

Things started out so well. Mike McCoy called the fake punt on 4th & short, Ryan Mathews ran for 39 yards, and then.... a holding call brought the run back and the drive ended with a silly 26-year old FG on 4th & 1.

After that, the Chargers had two very long drives. They are dominating time of possession (22:33 to 7:28), but the first long drive ended with a FG and the second ended with Nick Novak missing his first (non-blocked) FG of the season.

The Chargers defense looked strong after letting Julius Thomas score a 74 yard touchdown, but in the last two Broncos' drives of the game they went for 80 yards and 73 yards and finished with a touchdown each time. Unless San Diego can stop them to start the second half, the game will be 28-6 by time Philip Rivers gets the ball back in his hands.

The good news is that Ryan Mathews (46 yards on 7 carries) and the Chargers offensive line is performing well. Ladarius Green is getting plenty of snaps too, and has caught the ball for big plays each time it was thrown to him (one of those times it was brought back on a holding call). The bad news is that the red zone offense continues to haunt the team, and trading FGs for TDs is never going to work.

This game can get out of control in a hurry. Let's hope that the defense can force a stop, and the Chargers can figure out how to get into the end zone in the third quarter. It just might be at the expense of Mike McCoy's conservative approach and attitude.