Jets vs. Chargers: Complete Week 5 Preview for San Diego
The San Diego Chargers can earn their fourth straight win on the season if they can take care of business in front of the home crowd against the New York Jets on Sunday.
The Chargers and Jets last met at Qualcomm Stadium for a divisional playoff game in Rex Ryan's debut season with New York back in 2009. Ryan's club knocked off the Bolts 17-14 in a stunning upset and advanced to the AFC Championship Game that year.
Since then, the Chargers have traveled to New York twice and have split the meetings 1-1 with the Jets. The last encounter took place in 2012 when Norv Turner still served as San Diego's head coach. Kendall Reyes and others know that day well, considering they totaled 11 sacks on Greg McElroy in a 27-17 beatdown.
A lot has changed in two years, especially for San Diego. Mike McCoy guided the Bolts to the postseason last year and now has them off to a 3-1 start in 2014. Meanwhile, New York is eager to get out of a three-game slump, and quarterback play has doomed Ryan the past two seasons.
On Sunday, the Chargers get their first look at former second-round pick Geno Smith—the player entrusted to be the Jets next franchise quarterback. That said, Smith has looked far from what the organization has deemed him to be.
San Diego has a franchise quarterback and a very good one at that. Philip Rivers is playing as good as any quarterback in the league right now and is coming off his 24th consecutive game with a passing touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Can the Chargers continue to cruise, or will the Jets finally snap out of it?
This Week 5 preview starts now.
Chargers Week 4 Recap
1 of 5
For the first two quarters, it seemed like Jacksonville was capable of hanging with San Diego. The Jaguars were down by just three at halftime, but the Chargers came out with a spark in the second half and closed out the victory 33-14.
Philip Rivers led the charge with 377 yards passing and three touchdowns. Keenan Allen set career highs in catches (10) and yards (135). Eddie Royal had 105 yards receiving and two scores—his second consecutive multi-touchdown game. Malcom Floyd was also present on the scoreboard with a 24-yard touchdown catch to kick off the third quarter.
Thanks to a flourishing vertical game, San Diego had no real use for the run game, and it showed in the box score—Donald Brown and Branden Oliver combined for 42 rushing yards. Red-zone struggles also plagued the Bolts, who posted a goose egg in four trips.
San Diego's defense had quite the day also. Eric Weddle and Brandon Flowers welcomed Blake Bortles to the NFL properly with one interception apiece. The rookie quarterback was also taken down for three sacks. Altogether, the San Diego defense forced three turnovers and kept Jacksonville's offense in check.
News and Notes
2 of 5
Rivers Leading the Pack for MVP Vote
Peter King of the MMQB, among others, believes that Philip Rivers is a front-runner for the MVP award through the first four weeks of the season. The 10-year veteran was recently named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for the fourth time in his career and has been playing lights out during San Diego's three-game winning streak. Rivers' individual stats speak for themselves, but as King points out, accuracy and decision-making have been true strengths of the Chargers quarterback:
"He just keeps getting better. Building on last year’s 5% improvement in completion percentage—stunning for a 10-year vet—Rivers came back after a one-point loss to unbeaten Arizona to strafe three straight foes, most impressively leading the Chargers to 30 points in a Week 2 win over Seattle. The thing you notice about Rivers now is that his confidence isn’t getting him in trouble the way it did under Norv Turner—he’s forcing very few passes. He’s a 74.5% passer during the three-game streak, with no interceptions.
"
Chargers Unfazed by Injuries...so Far
The "next man up" philosophy has become an all-too-comfortable scenario for the Bolts, who continue to win games despite injuries to key starters on both sides of the ball. On Thursday, ESPN's Eric D. Williams noted that 14 players were listed on San Diego's injury report, including Dwight Freeney and Shareece Wright, who are dealing with knee injuries. Either way, Mike McCoy and the rest of the coaching staff continue to instill flexibility up and down the roster in the likely case that a player goes down.
Injuries haven't caught up with the Chargers during a lighter portion of the schedule, but how will that change in the second half of the season against top-flight competition?
Quarterback Controversy in New York
We've recently learned that Jets quarterback Geno Smith has the full backing of his owner and head coach, but the chants of "We want Vick!" ringing throughout MetLife Stadium this past Sunday won't do anything for Smith's confidence. In four starts, Smith has turned the ball over seven times and is completing passes at a lowly 60.3 percent.
New York is in the midst of a three-game skid with Smith under center, and the burning question on everyone's mind is whether or not Rex Ryan will pull the trigger on benching Smith for veteran Michael Vick. Ryan has publicly supported Smith despite his struggles, but at what point does he attempt to save his own job by shaking things up with a new signal-caller?
If Smith should struggle against San Diego, could this be the week we see Vick take over the reins?
Injury Report
3 of 5
| Player | Position | Injury | Status |
| Jerry Attaochu | LB | Hamstring | Questionable |
| Donald Butler | LB | Shoulder | Questionable |
| Malcom Floyd | WR | Illness | Probable |
| Dwight Freeney | LB | Knee | Questionable |
| Ladarius Green | TE | Hamstring | Probable |
| David Johnson | TE | Shoulder | Questionable |
| Jarret Johnson | LB | Shoulder | Probable |
| Cordarro Law | LB | Ankle | Probable |
| Corey Liuget | DE | Concussion | Questionable |
| Ryan Mathews | RB | Knee | Questionable |
| Manti Te'o | LB | Foot | Questionable |
| Jason Verrett | CB | Hamstring | Questionable |
| Reggie Walker | LB | Ankle | Questionable |
| Shareece Wright | CB | Knee | Questionable |
| Rich Ohrnberger | OL | Back | Questionable |
Courtesy of CBS Sports.
The injury report this week is daunting at first glance, and lower-body injuries seem to dominate the list. Once we get closer to game day, it'll be easier to distinguish who won't be suiting up against the Jets, but my gut tells me Wright, Te'o, Mathews, Walker and Ohrnberger will be no-gos come Sunday.
Judging from the injury notes Eric D. Williams provided during practice this week, I assume Freeney is also teetering on the edge of not playing. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and sat out Thursday's session.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
4 of 5
San Diego Defense vs. Chris Ivory
The Jets ground game is paced by an imposing figure in Ivory, who moves with purpose at 6'0" and 220-plus pounds. His 5.5 yards per carry are tied for fourth-best in the NFL right now, and believe me when I say he works hard for every inch. Arm tackles won't bring this man down, and he proved in Week 1 against the Raiders that you'd better wrap him up, or he'll break free.
The Chargers have allowed an average of 4.5 yards per carry but have managed to limit opponents to less than 100 yards per contest this season. San Diego bottled up a big back last week in Jacksonville's Toby Gerhart, but Ivory runs with a little more wiggle.
Brandon Flowers vs. Eric Decker
With Shareece Wright likely out, the Chargers will be at a bit of a height disadvantage when matching up defenders on Decker. Flowers, who stands 5'9", was faced with a similar challenge against Larry Fitzgerald in Week 1 and wound up holding the Arizona receiver to one catch on the night. If healthy, Jason Verrett could be another option to shadow New York's red-zone threat.
Decker has struggled in his first season without Peyton Manning and has been hampered by a pesky hamstring injury.
San Diego Offensive Line vs. New York Defensive Line
Known by their fans as the "Sons of Anarchy," the Jets defensive line is one of the best in the league against the run. Composed of Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison, the three players have combined for 43 tackles, three tackles for loss and five sacks. They've also helped New York limit opponents to 63.3 yards on the ground.
San Diego's offensive line has held up fine in pass protection, but creating holes in the run game has been a different story. The Chargers average a league-worst 2.4 yards a carry, and injuries to the offensive line and running backs haven't helped their cause.
X-Factor: San Diego Receiving Corps
New York's secondary has allowed nine touchdowns on the year and 228 yards per game through the air. To cut to the chase, the defensive backs of the Jets are going against an MVP candidate at quarterback and his slew of weapons in the passing game. Keenan Allen had a career day last week, and Eddie Royal had another multi-touchdown game. Plus, we know what Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd offer—pick your poison.
Prediction
5 of 5
The Chargers are seven-point favorites at home against the Jets.
With how well Philip Rivers has played through a quarter of the season, it's tough to bet against him and this passing attack. San Diego may have its problems in the run game, but as long as Rivers is healthy, the Chargers should have no trouble scoring points, especially against this secondary.
The improving play of the San Diego defense is also comforting considering that Geno Smith has been a turnover machine through four games. Just like they did last week against Bortles, I expect the Chargers to get after Smith and force him into making mistakes. Containing New York's rushing attack will also be key—not so much Chris Johnson but rather Chris Ivory, who will be a difficult load to bring down.
Prediction: Chargers 30, Jets 17
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
