Turner outcoaches Coughlin for Chargers win

Philip Rivers, left, outdueled Eli Manning in the fourth quarter. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Sunday had all the trappings of a disaster in the making.

Another East Coast loss. A big setback in the hopes to keep a wildcard berth alive. An electric almost playoff atmosphere. Mood swings and big plays back and forth.

Instead of a loss, it became a San Diego win, as the coaching wheels churned nonstop in what was a fierce second half of football and a 21-20 victory over the Giants.

Quarterback Philip Rivers refused to lose. And beleaguered Norv Turner outcoached Tom Coughlin down the stretch.

Related: Chargers rally, stun Giants, 21-20 | Chargers D picks up W

San Diego may have found its way back into the AFC West hunt too, needing this victory. And the Giants may be crippled in a brutal NFC East race

It was not easy. Turner was 1-8 in East Coast games the last three years.

The Giants clawed their way back into the game with a vintage NFC East mentality — pound the running game and go get the quarterback.

When it was over though, Rivers survived a pair of turnovers, an anemic running game, and three dropped passes on the heels of one final push. For the last 80 yards, Turner outschemed Tom Coughlin after the Giants coach had grabbed control of the game for most of the second half.

Turner seized the final two minutes of the game, going to a hurry up, no huddle package. It prevented Coughlin from getting nickle and dime packages on the field defensively. Rivers negated what had been a strong pass rush by throwing underneath. That triggered catches and runs for yards after the catch. Four completions on the final drive, with big yards attached after the receptions, made the difference.

Even prior to the final drive, the Bolts kept competing, recording five quarterback sacks, and chasing Eli Manning out of the pocket five other times. Shawne Merriman did his sack dance twice. And Eric Weddle came up with key solo tackles when left alone in coverage.

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Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates, who made big catches in the opening half, overcame double team defenses in the second half, to trigger the final drive.

Coughlin will be questioned about his strategy. On the opening drive, he shunned a 4th-and-one opportunity at the San Diego 20, in favor of a field goal. A bizarre botched play led to no points. Then his team twice got to the 20 but could not score at TD, and reached the five late in the game, failing to get a touchdown there either.

On defense he was frozen in time, unable to get winded players off the field in the final wild Rivers-driven drive.

It only counts as one win, but for this one Sunday, it was a huge victory in a hostile environment. Turner has problems still. A defensive front still getting shoved around. A woeful ground game that generated just 23 yards from its backs. And now a new issue — dropped passes by new players who are being counted on to step up.

But Bolt Blue has won three straight. Giants Blue has lost four in a row.

Turner outcoached the Giants coach with a Super Bowl ring. The quarterback made the plays. The coach designed the plays. Together they turned a likely loss into an emotional make-the-season win.

For one Sunday, someone in San Diego should give real credit and view Norv Turner as a winner.

Lee Hamilton hosts “Sportswatch” on XX-1090 (weekdays, 3-7 p.m.) and broadcasts NFL games for the Compass Media Networks. He won an award from the San Diego Press Club for his SDNN columns.

Tags: AFC West, Chargers, Eli Manning, Giants, Hacksaw Hamilton, NFC East, NFL playoffs, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, playoff race, SDNN, SWRNN

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Chargers, Football, Sports, Sports Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.