We wondered how the Rams would respond to losing 44-6 in Detroit last weekend.
With flying colors, as it turns out. Their 20-17 win is probably the most impressive of the Steve Spagnuolo era. Now we’re left wondering if the Chargers will ever do anything to respond to a season that keeps on going wrong. And it keeps going wrong in exactly the same ways.
The Chargers came out flat once again this week and fell behind 17-0 with more than 13 minutes to play in the second quarter. The first touchdown was set up by a long Danny Amendola punt return, continuing the trend of miserable special teams work by San Diego, and the comeback efforts were hampered by allowing seven sacks to a team that had 10 all season entering this week.
Yes, the Chargers were hampered by losing Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates to injuries during the game, but that doesn’t explain why they once again came out with no fire and it doesn’t explain why they continually aren’t able to come up with enough answers to beat teams that clearly have less talent.
That doesn’t mean they have no talent, though. Sam Bradford ran for one big first down and threw for another on a fourth quarter drive that led to a key field goal. After the Chargers scored a touchdown, Steven Jackson was able to gain 28 yards on five carries to get the team to the Victory formation. Jackson had 109 yards overall for the home team and rookie Danario Alexander caught a touchdown pass in his first NFL game.
There were some quibbles along the way -- the Rams went into a shell offensively for a good portion of the second half while trying to eat clock -- but you can’t argue with a result that keeps the Rams in the thick of the NFC West mix after six weeks.