Chargers feel they have positive momentum
Nov 22, 2017 - 10:30 PM COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Game day is around the corner for the Los Angeles Chargers and just where did this week go?Welcome to playing the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
The Chargers (4-6), fresh off a pasting of the Buffalo Bills, face the Cowboys (5-5) on Thursday.
"You just try and not do too much," head coach Anthony Lynn said on Tuesday. "The worst thing you can do in a short week is put too much mentally on the players. You got to let them go play fast and physical and see what happens."
The Chargers would love a repeat of last week when they sprinted past the Bills, 54-24. An offense that spun its wheels for most of the year took advantage of six turnovers to spin the scoreboard in an impressive fashion.
The win also put a little pep in the Chargers' step as they continue to inch closer to AFC West-leader Kansas City.
"I think momentum is very important and very real in football and we got some going right now," Lynn said. "The guys feel good."
They will need to play well against Dallas, which is looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The NFL's worst run defense won't have to tangle with a suspended Ezekiel Elliott. But with Dallas' blockers, getting production from a back might not be a tall task.
"They have Alford and are using a committee right now," Lynn said. "As long as you have that offensive line in front of you, I believe the committee of backs can get the job done. We still have to worry about the run."
And a passing game led by the shifty Dak Peterson.
"That's a big-time challenge," Lynn said. "He can extend plays with his legs, especially on third downs. He is a versatile threat. He has plays that you just can't prepare for."
Some were ready to bury the Chargers when they stumbled from the gate 0-4. But they got back on track and just might be revved for a late-season playoff run considering the tepid AFC West.
"This is the time of year someone is going to break out," Lynn said. "So I told the guys, 'Heck, it might as well be us.'"
SERIES HISTORY: 11th regular-series meeting. Cowboys lead series, 6-4 although four of those wins came in San Diego. The game should be close as six of the 10 games were decided by six points or less and the other four decided by no more than two touchdowns. The Chargers have won the last two meetings. Philip Rivers threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-21 victory at home in 2013. In their last visit to Dallas in 2009, they won 2017. Los Angeles has never faced the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, a day in which they are 31-18-1.
--Cornerback Casey Hayward is noticing a different (wide receiver) Michael Williams, in practices and the games. "Each week you can tell he is getting more confident," Hayward said of the draft's No. 7 overall pick. "He's getting better in his routes and getting more confident going up for the ball."
--It was must-see TV in Sunday's win over the Bills: head coach Anthony Lynn and quarterback Philip Rivers jawing at each other like two brothers in a sandlot football game.
"Philip plays with a lot of fire, plays with a lot of emotion and I like that," Lynn said. "I think those emotions are what make him the player that he is today. We talk it out. We yell it out. But at the end of the day, we're on the same page."
--First, rookie Austin Ekeler beat out Branden Oliver as the backup to starter Melvin Gordon. Now Ekeler has expanded his role and is a semi-regular on third-down plays.
"I just have to be ready at all times," Ekeler said of his new responsibilities. "I don't know when I'm going in, but when I go in, I've got to be ready and understand what they're trying to do in situations, with blitzes and things of that nature."
--The Chargers conducted their only real practice -- albeit without pads -- on Tuesday as they tried to condense their work week with a Thursday game. Most of the Chargers' work this week was what head coach Anthony Lynn calls the "slide-and-glide" speed.
NOTES: WR Travis Benjamin (abdomen) was limited in Tuesday's practice. ... ILB Hayes Pullard (neck) didn't work in Tuesday's practice. ... TE Antonio Gates (rest) didn't practice Tuesday. ... C Spencer Pulley (knee) was limited Tuesday. ... OLB Chris McCain (hamstring) had a full workout Tuesday. ... OLB James Onwualu (quad) was limited Tuesday. ... RT Joe Barksdale (foot) was limited Tuesday. ... DT Corey Liuget (toe) was limited Tuesday. ... S Adrian Phillips (hamstring) was limited Tuesday. ... LT Russell Okung (knee) was limited Tuesday. ... WR Michael Williams (knee) was limited Tuesday. ... K Nick Novak (back) was a full participant Tuesday. ... TE Sean McGrath (finger) had a full workout Tuesday.
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