Posted by Irvine Sign Company
Posted by Irvine Business Sign Company
CARSON – In the middle of a near-perfect afternoon, with the offense cruising in the third quarter, Melvin Gordon came sprinting around the back of a toss play, looking for the end-around lateral.
For weeks, the Chargers – and Gordon, in particular – had been waiting for the right opportunity to call this play. But as they finally ran it, it all went wrong. As fellow running back Austin Ekeler tossed it to Gordon, defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche blew up the backfield and collided with Gordon’s right knee, leaving the versatile Chargers back writhing on the field.
With the game well in hand, Gordon never returned. And now, with a crucial stretch of the schedule ahead, it’s quite possible the Chargers running back may miss more time in the weeks to come.
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that Gordon’s knee was “sore”, but that the team didn’t know the severity of his injury just yet. Gordon will be evaluated further on Monday, and only then will we know if the Chargers will have to weather a few weeks – or more – without their bellcow back.
“Hopefully what happened isn’t serious,” Lynn said. “I don’t know the extent of the injury right now. But, if he has to miss some time – well, he’s a starting running back in this league. To have him for 14, 15 games is pretty good.”
Gordon has already missed one game this season, after his hamstring tightened up on him in London. He’d been dealing with knee soreness in the week leading up to this week’s game, but it was his other knee that was injured on Sunday.
Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said he had no plans to lighten Gordon’s workload down the stretch. Now, with a prolonged absence possible, the Chargers may have no choice.
Fortunately, they have an uber-effective back behind Gordon. After he exited Sunday’s game, Ekeler turned 15 touches into 103 yards and a touchdown. If Gordon is forced to miss time, that role should expand significantly. As would the role of third-string back Justin Jackson, who carried the ball seven times for 57 yards on Sunday.
“We’re hoping it’s not as bad as it seems,” Ekeler said. “We’ll see how that’s going on Monday. He’s a beast, man. He’s a big part of our offense right now.”
On the sideline, following his injury, teammates consoled their top back, who through 11 games trails only Todd Gurley in total touchdowns league-wide. But on Sunday, after two more touchdowns of his own, Gordon left for the locker room in the middle of the third quarter, his status in serious doubt.
BACK TO NORMAL
It’d been 11 months since Joey Bosa turned the corner with a clear path to the quarterback, so long that he’d almost forgotten what it felt like.
But in his second game back from the foot injury that claimed his entire season to this point, Bosa sped around the edge and caught Arizona right tackle Andre Smith on his heels. With one hand into Smith’s chest, Bosa disposed of him easily. Quarterback Josh Rosen was waiting close behind, and Bosa sent him to the turf.
“It felt amazing,” Bosa said of his first sack this season.
He didn’t have to wait nearly as long for his second. One quarter later, Bosa took Rosen down again on third down. His takedowns were the only two sacks of the day for the Chargers defense and marked the sixth time in his 30 career games that Bosa has racked up multiple sacks in one Sunday.
“The more he plays,” Lynn said, “the better he’s going to get.”
NOTES
Kicker Michael Badgley hit all six of his extra-point attempts on Sunday, giving him the most points scored by a Chargers kicker through the first five games of a career. … With his interception on Sunday, safety Derwin James became the first rookie since 2012 to post multiple picks to go with 3.5 sacks. … Wideout Travis Benjamin had just three receptions this season heading into Sunday’s game. Against the Cardinals, he finished with three catches for 47 yards.
[Read More ...]
Posted by Irvine Sign Maker
For Free Sign Estimate Visit: Lighted Channel Letters Irvine ca
Posted by https://goo.gl/TXzGV5
No comments:
Post a Comment