The San Diego Chargers were tested in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Blake Bortles made his first career start at quarterback, but it was not enough to defeat the home team on this Sunday as Philip Rivers had a monster performance.
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Rivers completed -of- his passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns on the day as the Chargers improved to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 at Qualcomm Stadium this year.
Rivers connected with Eddie Royal for a pair long touchdowns in the second quarter when it appeared as if this game could be much closer than originally anticipated.
With the Jaguars leading 7-3 after a Toby Gerhart rushing touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter, Rivers hit Royal for a 47-yard touchdown to take a 10-7 lead, but after Bortles led the Jaguars on a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession, the Chargers trailed for the second time in the game.
Rivers found Royal for a second time from 43 yards out in the closing seconds of the first half as the Chargers took a 17-14 lead with 59 seconds left in the half.
That touchdown served as a significant momentum shifter for the Chargers who dominated the game in the second half.
Malcom Floyd caught Rivers’ third touchdown on the afternoon on the opening possession of the second half as he reeled in a 24-yard pass to make it a 24-14 game and from there the Jaguars were chasing too many points.
San Diego had 100-yard games from Royal who had five catches for 105 yards and the two touchdowns and Keenan Allen had his best game of the year with 10 catches for 135 yards as the Chargers aired it out with not much help at running back.
The Chargers played without Ryan Matthews and Danny Woodhead so Donald Brown made his first start of the season and finished with 19 yards on 10 carries. Branden Oliver finished with a team-high 23 yards on nine carries.
Nick Novak was 3-of-3 on field goal attempts as he has now made 27 consecutive field goals for the Chargers.
Bortles finished with okay numbers for his first career start as he was a respectable 29-of-37 passing with receptions to 10 different receivers for 253 yards and a touchdown, but he tossed two interceptions in the second half and was sacked three times.
The No. 3 overall pick out of Central Florida showed a lot in his first start on the road against a playoff team, but today showed how far he still has to go to be on the level of one of the game’s best in Rivers who was in top form today.
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