@ Cleveland

Today’s game between the Chargers and the Browns will be a game of streaks on both sides. Unfortunately for the streaking on the Cleveland side of things, they’re going the wrong way. The Chargers enter this contest carrying a 15 game winning streak in the month of December dating all the way back to 2005 and they look to continue that trend by Lake Erie today. For the Browns, they are just looking to keep some fannies in the seats as they look to avoid their 10th consecutive home loss today against the Bolts. Cleveland’s defense has just been awful this season ranked 31st in a league of 32 teams just one yard per game allowed better than the lowly Lions. Add that ineptitude on defense to what is statistically the league’s worst offense and you get the Browns 2009 struggles in a nutshell. As if things could get any worse for the Browns, last week they did when the team lost its best player nose tackle Shaun Rogers for the remainder of the year with a lower leg injury last week against the Bengals. With all of these numbers being thrown around it sounds like you can already write this one down in the win column for the Bolts. Not to go all Lee Corso on you here, but not so fast my friend! This game will be subject to the elements and unfortunately for the Chargers that means temperatures in the thirties and wind chills below freezing. The Chargers will have to forget all about the warmth and comfort of southern California for a few hours here this afternoon and simply focus in on executing out on the field.

Establishing the run should be an early focus for the Chargers on offense today against the Browns, but the ball will be in the hands of Brady Quinn and the Cleveland offense to start this one off. Cleveland begins the drive with an uptempo, no huddle look and the Chargers are really struggling to get any sort of pressure on the quarterback with the lack of substitutions. The Browns methodically march the ball into Chargers territory via a nice mix of run and pass and it looks like the Bolts are going to get off to a bit of a slow start here today. After a holding penalty backs them up, Quinn delivers a strike to Mohamed Massaquoi on third down in the end zone for a Cleveland touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Chargers offense will take the field and try to forget about the defense’s stuggles on that opening drive and Philip Rivers tries to begin that process with two nice completions to Antonio Gates moving the Bolts quickly into field goal range at the Cleveland 33. Following yet another pass to Gates, LaDainian Tomlinson gets another carry and moves the ball inside the Browns 20 before the drive stalls and the Chargers are forced to settle for a Nate Kaeding field goal on their first possession making the score 7-3 Cleveland. As the Browns offense comes back onto the field, Ron Rivera and company on defense will need to make some adjustments to control this no huddle attack. After a deep pass play from Quinn to Brian Robiskie gets the Browns into San Diego territory, the defense stiffens a bit forcing a 43 yard field goal attempt by Phil Dawson which is wide left and they escape this time without surrendering any points. After taking over in nice field position after the missed field goal, a pass from Rivers goes short left to Mike Tolbert who totes the rock 68 yards down the sideline to paydirt and just like that the Bolts are in front 10-7.

There’s nothing like having a quick strike offense, but that doesn’t make it any easier to get controlled by an inferior opponent in the opening quarter of a football game. Even though the Chargers hold the lead, the Browns have to feel good about the way the opening fifteen minutes went as they open the 2nd quarter with more of the same as the no huddle attack continues to befuddle the Bolts again penetrating San Diego territory with some Jerome Harrison on the ground and Quinn through the air evenly sharing the load. The Browns are knocking on the door with a first and goal at the 2 yard line and the Bolts defense comes up huge stopping them on first and second down before sacking and forcing a Quinn fumble on the sixteenth play of the drive as Shaun Phillips gets to the Cleveland signal caller and jars the ball free. Jacques Cesaire is there to recover the loose ball and again the Bolts escape without any further damage on the scoreboard. A few completions by Rivers and a few runs from LT get the Chargers out of the shadows of their own goal posts after the change of possession before Mike Scifres is summoned to reverse the field position as he booms a 49 yard punt that is not returned. The Chargers defense holds its ground and forces a Cleveland punt that the Bolts will take over at their own 30 with 47 seconds left in the half. San Diego works their way down to the Browns 24 yard line with 6 seconds left on the clock and the Bolts add three more points to their lead as they will head into halftime up 13-7 after a brilliant drive to close out the first half of action.

As bad as the San Diego defense looked in the first half, the Chargers somehow Houdini their way into a six point lead after thirty minutes of play with the kickoff to start the 3rd quarter coming the Bolts way as well. The Browns nearly doubled the Chargers in time of possession in the opening half, but that one turnover on the stat sheet looms large for Cleveland after two quarters of play. The Chargers come out of the locker room and take the ball from their own 15 and the key completion is another short pass to Gates turned into a 35 yard gain by the YAC earned by the Chargers tight end. San Diego enters Cleveland territory as LT churns out two nice carries and the Bolts continue to balance the run and pass to perfection. On that note, Rivers throws a little screen to Darren Sproles who does the rest of the work taking the ball 31 yards to the end zone to increase San Diego’s advantage to 20-7. Cleveland gets their turn after the Chargers start the second half with a bang, but the Browns are unable to do much with their possession as they punt the ball back to San Diego after just three quick plays. Antonio Gates continues to pull down huge catches for Rivers as he outleaps both Abram Elam and Hank Poteat showing off his basketball skills set from his Kent State days for a 56 yard gain down to the Cleveland 28 yard line. Rivers returns to his favorite target shortly thereafter and the Bolts are inside the Browns 10 yard line. The Chargers offensive line does the job from there escorting LT into the end zone to run the San Diego lead to 27-7. On the ensuing kickoff the Chargers see that big kickoff return against them by Josh Cribbs that they were afraid of coming into the week as he sets the Browns up on the San Diego side of the 50. San Diego’s defense again stops the Browns cold however forcing a three and out and a punt that goes into the end zone for a touchback.

San Diego’s offense is beginning to dominate the Cleveland defense moving the ball nearly at will here as the 4th quarter will begin with the Chargers set up at the Browns 35 yard line. The Bolts come out from the TV timeout and sputter a bit getting forced into a fourth down situation on which Jacob Hester is stuffed and the ball is given over to the Browns on downs. On the first play after the turnover, the Browns lineup with Cribbs taking the snap and he gallops 30 yards down the sideline and out of bounds in San Diego territory. Some continued trickery with Chansi Stuckey getting in on the act before Quinn gets back under center and leads the Browns into a first and goal situation as Cleveland is again on the doorstep. This time they cash in as Quinn connects short over the middle to Jerome Harrison for a touchdown making the score 27-14 Bolts. San Diego starts out at their 19 yard line with a seemingly innocuous 8 yard carry by LaDainian Tomlinson, but with that run Tomlinson surpasses the great Jim Brown for 8th place on the all-time rushing list who stands at 12,312 yards. After that history making Rivers throws a deep ball for Vincent Jackson who hauls it in for a 41 yard gain down the right side of the field. After some carries split between Sproles and Tomlinson down near the goal line, the Bolts are forced to settle for a Kaeding field goal and a now 30-14 lead. Quinn and the Browns have no quit in them as their no huddle attack continues to fight and they move down the field on the Chargers and score another touchdown from Quinn to Harrison. After a failed two-point conversion Cleveland recovers an onside kick and moves the ball down into the Chargers side of the field nearly giving all Chargers fans a heart attack as they settle for three points moving them to within seven of the Bolts at 30-23 before another onside kick attempt. Fittingly the final onside kick is nullified and recovered by the day’s record breaker LT and this one is finally signed, sealed, and delivered with a final of 30-23, San Diego.

It could not have been more fitting today that LaDainian Tomlinson passed the great Jim Brown for 8th on the all-time rushing list against the team that Brown spent his nine NFL seasons with. Tomlinson has really propelled himself into some elite company this season moving by great names like Thurman Thomas, Franco Harris, and Marcus Allen as well thus far in 2009. It may be fair to say that he is in the latter half of his illustrious career, but there have still been flashes of LT greatest this season with some of this record breaking. Today’s touchdown was Tomlinson’s 150th career making him the fastest to reach this number in NFL history which is quite an accomplishment to add to his already admirable list. This win today was in large part due to yet another phenomenal afternoon by Philip Rivers who had 373 yards through the air today with 8 completions and 167 yards of that total going to his favorite target Antonio Gates who was equally fantastic on this Sunday. With Gates and Rivers clicking down the stretch, Chargers opponents are going to have to pick their poison as weapons continue to emerge for the Bolts and LaDainian Tomlinson still looks like he has some fuel left in his tank.

Tags: Antonio Gates, Brady Quinn, Chansi Stuckey, Cleveland Browns, Darren Sproles, Detroit Lions, Franco Harris, Jacob Hester, Jacques Cesaire, Jerome Harrison, Jim Brown, Josh Cribbs, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marcus Allen, Mike Tolbert, Mohamed Massaquoi, Nate Kaeding, Phil Dawson, Philip Rivers, Shaun Phillips, Thurman Thomas, Vincent Jackson