Jets vs. Chargers: Full Report Card Grades for San Diego
San Diego earned its third straight victory and is sitting pretty at 4-1 atop the division despite injuries throughout the roster. The Bolts have ridden the coattails of star quarterback Philip Rivers, who continues to bring his A-game on Sundays. The Chargers have also benefited from a defense that has allowed just 24 points combined in its last three games.
Here's how the units graded out against a Jets team that is enduring all sorts of problems.
Quarterback
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| Completions | Attempts | Yards | TD | INT | Passer RTG |
| 20 | 28 | 288 | 3 | 1 | 125.3 |
Philip Rivers continued his bid for MVP with another dominant performance, but his streak of 128 consecutive passes thrown without an interception fell in the second quarter when he was picked off by Phillip Adams in the end zone. The pass intended for Keenan Allen was thrown into double coverage and a bit underthrown—a little greedy, yes, but we've seen Allen come out the winner in that situation before.
A pair of plays by Rivers stood out in particular for me, both of which really emphasized his candidacy for the MVP race. The first one came on San Diego's third drive. He floated a pass over the shoulder of Eddie Royal for a 32-yard gain after eluding pressure in the pocket. In the second, Rivers also escaped pressure, and he found Branden Oliver this time for a 50-yard gain.
With the exception of the interception, it was a solid day for Rivers.
Grade: A
Running Back
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| Player | Carries | Yards | AVG | TD |
| Branden Oliver | 19 | 114 | 6.0 | 1 |
| Donald Brown | 9 | 26 | 2.9 | 0 |
| Shaun Draughn | 10 | 19 | 1.9 | 0 |
People around the football world were probably wondering who the heck Branden Oliver even was before Sunday's game, but he properly introduced himself with a breakout performance against the Jets that included a receiving touchdown. When Donald Brown exited the game with a concussion that came on a hit by Quinton Coples, Oliver stepped in and fulfilled the next-man-up philosophy.
The comparisons to Darren Sproles were uncanny, but rest assured, Oliver wants to forge his own path. Moving forward, Oliver should see more carries after averaging six yards against the Jets.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
| Player | REC | Yards | AVG | TD |
| Malcom Floyd | 3 | 72 | 24.0 | 0 |
| Antonio Gates | 4 | 60 | 15.0 | 2 |
| Eddie Royal | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 0 |
| Keenan Allen | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 |
| Seyi Ajirotutu | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 |
| Ladarius Green | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
Antonio Gates, the ageless wonder, had his way with New York defense, which helped him reach 10th place all-time with his 92nd career touchdown catch. Malcom Floyd, Keenan Allen and Eddie Royal were kept out of the end zone this week, but the trio combined to make it a long day for the Jets secondary. Thirteen of San Diego's 22 first downs came through the air, and the Chargers averaged 8.9 yards a pass.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line suffered two casualties Sunday: Right tackle D.J. Fluker left the game with an ankle injury, and center Doug Legursky was carted off the field with a knee injury. Fluker's injury was minor enough that he managed to return to the sidelines, but the same can't be said for Legursky, who was on crutches after the game.
Legursky's injury forced San Diego to play its fourth different center this season, third-round draft choice Chris Watt, who has limited experience at the position. Watt had a rough day at guard and center, including a holding penalty that negated a touchdown in the second quarter. The offensive line was also beat three times for sacks, and Philip Rivers paid the price with some big hits.
The performance as a whole wasn't terrible when the running game finally managed to get going, but the injuries and sacks will be something to worry about down the road.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
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| Player | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits |
| Ricardo Mathews | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Carrethers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Lissemore | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kendall Reyes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tenny Palepoi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Liuget | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Geno Smith had pressure in his grill all day, and the Jets ground game never really got going. Chris Ivory was held to 44 yards, and Chris Johnson finished with 24. Sean Lissemore had the lone sack on the defensive line, but I can recall seeing Ricardo Mathews very nearly having one of his own.
Corey Liuget and Kendall Reyes had a quiet afternoon, but the play of Lissemore and some of the reserves helped make up for their lack of production.
Grade: B
Linebackers
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| Player | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits |
| Andrew Gachkar | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kavell Conner | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donald Butler | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tourek Williams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jarret Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cordarro Law | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Reddick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Freeney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Linebacker play up and down the depth chart was well above par against the Jets. Kavell Conner, Donald Butler and Andrew Gachkar sealed up running lanes on the inside, and the pass rush from outside linebackers hurried Geno Smith and Michael Vick into some bad throws. Butler had the lone sack for the linebacking corps, bringing down Vick on his second drive for a loss of six yards.
The loss of Manti Te'o hasn't put a damper on San Diego's efforts against the run as Conner and Gachkar have managed to pick up the slack. Where the Chargers have been hurting the most is in the pass rush with the absence of Melvin Ingram. Dwight Freeney leads the team with two sacks, but it has now been two games that he hasn't recorded a tackle or a sack.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
| Player | Tackles | TFL | PD | QB Hits | INT |
| Jahleel Addae | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Weddle | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Verrett | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Davis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Marshall | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Flowers | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marcus Gilchrist | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The secondary might have endured its easiest challenge to date with the duo of Geno Smith and Michael Vick throwing for just 60 yards and 12 completions. To be fair, New York was without its leading receiver, Eric Decker, but the defensive backs of San Diego put forth an amazing effort that included a pair of takeaways: an interception by Brandon Flowers and a recovered fumble by Jahleel Addae.
Not much more you could ask from a group than that.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nick Novak had one field goal Sunday, a 34-yarder in the fourth quarter. Novak continues to be automatic in the kicking game and is now one shy of making 29 consecutive field goals, which will be a team record. Mike Scifres pinned the Jets within their 20-yard line twice and got off a booming 60-yard punt toward the end of the game that ended New York's chances of spoiling the shutout.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
For John Pagano, it doesn't get anymore perfect than a shutout for a defensive coordinator. His unit also held the Jets to one of 12 third-down conversions and just 11 first downs. The defense also forced a pair of turnovers—an interception and a forced fumble.
On offense, 31 points is about the norm for Frank Reich's unit. The vertical game accounted for 277 yards, but the 162 yards on the ground was the best stat by far. After averaging a league-worst 2.4 yards a carry the previous week, the Chargers rolled for 4.1 yards a carry against the NFL's best run defense.
Mike McCoy kept his squad together despite a number of injuries in the game and continues to motivate the play of his reserves.
Grade: A
Final Grades
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | A |
| Running Back | A |
| WR and TE | B+ |
| Offensive Line | C |
| Defensive Line | B |
| Linebackers | B |
| Secondary | A |
| Coaching | A |
| Special Teams | A |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
The Chargers move into a three-game stretch of rivalry games with Oakland, Kansas City and Denver. Some would argue that the Chargers have enough talent to get past their first two rivals, but the highly anticipated matchup with the Broncos will be San Diego's first big test. Right now, though, the main priority should be getting healthy and preparing for a road contest against the Raiders.
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