San Diego-There’s always a silver lining behind every dark cloud. Somehow, some way, the San Diego Chargers found their silver lining in the middle of a 27-3 defeat at Qualcomm Stadium to Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. The Chargers got it from running back Ryan Mathews. Sure, Mathews, who made his long-awaited season debut against the Falcons with a 10-carry, 44-yard effort, didn’t exactly-in baseball terminology- hit the home run many probably were expecting from the third-year player.
But by simply being in the lineup and on the field, it is easy to see why the Chargers are so high on Mathews. He is one electrifying burst after another waiting to happen. No, there would be no highlight-reel runs on Mathews against the Falcons. But it’s clear that his explosiveness, power and sudden burst of speed gives the Chargers the dynamic dimension that have missing from an already potent offense.
Mathews, who suffered an injured collarbone during the preseason, had been the missing link to coach Norv Turner’s offense. The Chargers got by the first two regular season games without Mathews. With him in the huddle with quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates, the Chargers know they have a lethal offensive unit with Mathews being part of the program.
Even committing a critical turnover inside the red zone as he did against the Falcons, Mathews is the one offensive sparkplug the Chargers cannot afford to live without. Mathews is the Chargers prime-time guy. If the Chargers make it to the postseason, not only will they get there behind the strong arm of Rivers, but by riding on the powerful shoulders and legs of Mathews.
“It’s great to have a guy like that,” said Chargers running back Le’Ron McClain. “You can see from the first time he touched the ball, the first couple of times he was explosive, making plays, breaking tackles and doing his thing. He had the big fumble on that one drive, but he shook it off. Those plays you have to forget about, you have to move on. Having a guy like him shows the explosiveness we can have in this running game. The sky is the limit for this offense. We have so many weapons, we have to feel everything together and get on that right stride and keep building and get better each day.”
Down 6-0 in the second quarter, the Chargers put themselves in position to tie and the game and go ahead with the point after attempt with a drive inside of Atlanta’s 10-yard line. But after running for three yards to the Falcons’ four-yard line, Mathews fumbled. Atlanta would drive 96 yards on 17 plays for a touchdown and go up 13-0. The Falcons never looked back after that.
Coming back to play against Atlanta was more about having his mind right than anything else, Mathews said.
“My main thing was more mental today than it was physical,” Mathews said afterward. “It was the first time I really carried the ball with a little bit of contact…they made a good play. I was pushing for more yards and when I was going down to get a little extra-the ball came out in front of me. Stuff like that happens, and I just have to learn to go down instead of trying to get that extra yard. I’ll come back next week and I know what I need to work on coming into the following week, and everything will be alright.”
Mathews rushed for 1,091 yards in 14 games last season, raising the bar of expectation for his productivity this year. Drafted by the Chargers in the 2010 NFL Draft as the No. 12 overall pick out of Fresno State as the heir to future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Mathews had a decent rookie campaign, rushing for 678 yards. This year that is critical one for both Mathews and the Chargers as the team move forward in its push for the postseason.
“Ryan is Ryan,” Turner said. “He’s fast, he’s physical, he’s competitive. Obviously, we need to get to a point where he secures the ball every play. He’s capable of doing it. We just have to get him to the point where he does it on each play.”
Mathews said it was good to rejoin the team. But he added that there was also a little bit of frustration about his performance overall.
“It felt good getting back in the game and being able to help the team. The game is fast and it took a little bit of getting used to. I kind of wish that I would have played in some more preseason games, but it’s over and done with.”
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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