That was a different Sunday afternoon for the Chargers, the players, the fans, even the coach.
The woeful last place Bolts finally won a game, edging out a very young and struggling Jacksonville Jaguars team.
For one day and for the upcoming week, everyone can feel better about themselves.
Philip Rivers was Philip Rivers, making play after play down the field, and running out of trouble, out of the pocket 5-times in the game. Included was a 4th and 7 scamper trying to keep a drive going in Jaguars territory.
Antonio Gates reached back to yesteryear and caught 2-TD passes. Limited by knee problems, he caught 2-short yardage TDs, critical catches too. He may not be any longer what he used to be because of knee issues, but he is still a load to cover.
Stevie Johnson showed flashes of what he used to be, a big yards after catch guy, the kind of stuff that made him a thousand yard receeiver once upon a Sunday in Buffalo.
Melvin Gordon banged and grinded for 80 all purpose yards, run and catch.
On defense, they blitzed alot, and seemed to freak out Blake Bortels. There wasn’t alot of flow to the Jaguars offense after the early going, and Bortels did something no-one ever sees in the NFL, drawing two penalty flags for scrambling over the line of scrimmage and then throwing a pass.
The mistakes were fatal, one at the Bolt 7, the other at the 5, wiping out potential TD drives. In fact, the Jaguars young gun drove his team to the 4-6-7-28-and-33 and just could not get them in the end zone.
Denzel Perryman played really well at inside linebacker. Jason Verrett was tested, beaten, but fought back on plays on the corner too..
And for the first time since early September, the Chargers were starting drives outside their 20-yard line, even once in Jags territory.
It was a struggle of a win, but it was a “W”. Everyone felt good, including a strange looking Mike McCoy, who even tried to be funny with a San Diego media he has treated with disdain for nearly 3-seasons.
Maybe there is a hope for change, that the team can put together a mini-winning streak is their lost season, and that McCoy will actually quit scowling, and start enjoying his job, and the people who cover him.

Everyone needed this win, the fans, the hard-working playes, the troubled coach.
It was only one win, and looming next, the suddenly rejuvenated Broncos and the kid QB-Brock Osweiler. We may never see Peyton Manning again.
We will see the Bolts next Sunday to see if they can make it 2-in a row, now that they’ve finally won a game in this lost, and sadly, last season in San Diego.
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