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On a wild Sunday that saw the unbeaten Broncos lose to the only-beaten Chiefs and a Dallas squad just a week earlier deemed the NFL’s best lose at home to the Skins, at halftime of San Diego’s visit to McAfee Coliseum it looked like the Bolts would join them on Monday’s front page for all the wrong reasons, chewed up and spit out by the hated Raiders.  After losing nine straight to the Bolts over the years, the soon-to-be-fired Lane Kiffin (UPDATE: the officially sacked Lane Kiffin) had his should-be-fired Raiders squad ready to play.

For a half, at least.The first 30 minutes were all Oakland, as the Chargers continued to start games slower than John Madden in a 100-yard dash.  A long return of the opening kickoff setting up a Sebastian Janikowski field goal and an early 3-0 lead.  A Philip Rivers/LT fumble behind the goal line for a safety. 5-0.  An interception of a lackluster Rivers pass.  A listless O that managed only 85 total yards, zero points and equally little momentum heading into the half, down 15-0 to the silver and black.   The Chargers were held to a single first down in the first quarter, did not cross midfield until late in the second, looked unsure, sluggish, and were without any spark.

Determined to play down to the level of their competition, they actually overshot, and landed a notch or two below the Raiders.

San Diego’s performance issues were deep and ugly.

With Denver handing them a gift loss in KC, were they really going to give up such a shining opportunity to narrow the gap in the AFC West?

Short answer: No.

After another halftime pep talk–What exactly does the training staff put in those mid-game orange slices and Gatorade?– the Bolts got their proverbial asses in gear, and quickly.  They took the second half kickoff and engineered an 80 yard drive, from their 15 to the Oakland 5, with a good mix of solid running and a couple of key pass plays, finally getting Vincent Jackson involved with a 24 yard reception to move the ball deep into Raiders territory.  LT dropped an easy swing pass for a sure TD and the Bolts had to settle for a Nate Kaeding field goal for their first points of the match, but the drive indicated what was to come.  Defensively, the secondary picked up Rivers after his second interception of the game, as a timely tipped pass fell into the soft hands of Tim Dobbins, scuttling a killer opportunity for the Raiders and giving the Bolts some electricity.

The tale of two halves was on.

The Chargers drove 66 yards for a touchdown, Rivers to Gates.  Marques Harris drilled JaMarcus Russell, causing and recovering the ensuing fumble, which LT cashed in for a 13 yard run to paydirt.   Fifteen points in 85 seconds, generated off turnovers. The blitz was working, the game was San Diego’s to lose.  The hometown team made things interesting after a Janikowski field goal tied things at 18 with just under three minutes to play.  Too many times, Charger fans have seen the Bolts fire up the faithful with a comeback only to piss them off in the end.  Thankfully, on this night everyone would be able to watch SportsCenter without shooting up the TV.

Over the last 2:47, the Chargers left no doubt, finishing the job with authority.  A 67 yard return from Darren “Tank” Sproles set up a Kaeding field goal to give the Chargers a lead, then the D stiffened up against Russell, forcing a turnover on downs and setting up LT’s second TD of the day, a 41 yard scamper that looked a lot like the Tomlinson everyone has been waiting to see. It was his first 20+ gain of the year.In the end, the Raider Nation was once again disappointed.

15-0 for the home squad at halftime became 28-18 at the final gun.

But after 10 straight losses to San Diego, shouldn’t they just be numb?

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