Leon Washington leads Seattle Seahawks to victory over the San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks kick returner Leon Washington set Qwest field on fire by returning two second half kickoffs all the way to the end zone to help lead his team to a 27-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Besides Washington's heroics, the Chargers' typically dominant offence was hampered yesterday by turnovers including two interceptions by quarterback Philip Rivers, and three first half fumbles by Darren
Sproles, Mike Tolbert and receiver Legedu Naanee.
The Charger offence stalled entirely in the first half and didn't get going until their first drive of the second half. After starting the second half down 10-0, the Charger offence could only watch from
the bench as the second half kickoff was returned 101 yards by leon Washington giving the Seahawks a 17-0 lead. In typical Philip Rivers fashion, undaunted, the Charger quarterback led his team 77 yards in just three plays before finding receiver Malcolm Floyd
with a short 3-yard pass to put his team back in the game. They'd add five more points in the third quarter off of a safety and 29-yard field goal.
In the fourth quarter Rivers even managed to bring his team back and tie the game after a 9-play, 65-yard drive was finished off with a 12-yard pass from Rivers to his favorite target, tight end Antonio
Gates. The chargers then successfully converted the subsequent two-point conversion.
The Chargers must have felt confident with the score now tied and six and a half minutes still to play. But after Gates' touchdown Leon Washington ran back the ensuing kickoff the full 99 yards to take
back the lead.
Rivers drove his team down the field in the closing minutes all the way to the Seattle 17-yard line but was intercepted by the Seahawks rookie free safety, Earl Thomas, with only six seconds to go. The
crucial interception was Thomas' second of the night.
Statistically, the Chargers dominated most of the game including rushing and passing yards, first downs, and time of possession. The two key categories where they came up short were on special teams and
on turnovers, and both of those were major factors in determining the one other, all important, statistic where the Chargers came up short - the final score.
With only one win in their first three games this season the San Diego Chargers find themselves in unfamiliar territory - looking up at the rest of the pack in the AFC. To further compound their early
season woes, the Chargers lost star linebacker Shawne Merriman with a calf injury sustained in the first quarter. The Chargers play host to the Arizona Cardinals next week.
As for the Seattle Seahawks, they sit atop the NFC west tied with the Arizona Cardinals and several other teams in the conference with two wins and one loss. They will be able to take a number of positives
away from this game including forcing five turnovers and sacking quarterback Philip Rivers another four times. They can't expect to rely on Leon Washington to return two kickoffs for touchdowns night after night and will be looking to improve their offensive
game plan in the upcoming weeks as they travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams next Sunday.
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