Heilig » Liverpool would score more than one

BALTIMORE - Playing on the road against a playoff-quality team, Philip Rivers would have been delighted with a win no matter how it occurred.The manner in which the San Diego Chargers beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, well, it doesnt get much better than that for a veteran quarterback looking to carry his team into the playoffs.San Diego trailed the entire game until Rivers capped a 1-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal with 38 seconds to go, giving the Chargers a 34-33 victory.The Chargers (8-4) trailed 30-20 with 6:13 remaining and 33-27 with 2:22 left before Rivers brought them back.These are the kind of games you got to win to get in (the post-season) and these are the kind of games you got to win if you do get in, Rivers said. Im not saying youre going to win all of them, but if you cant win these, youre not good enough.Each team punted just once. Both offences were clicking all day long, which made the outcome all that much sweeter for Rivers.Just the way we won. It was back and forth, back and forth, never quit, he said. We got one more point than they had.Following a pass interference call against Anthony Levine in the end zone, Rivers hit Royal to conclude an 80-yard drive and give the Chargers their third straight victory.Rivers went 34 for 45 for 383 yards and three touchdowns, two to Keenan Allen.Tip our hat to the Chargers and Philip Rivers, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. Obviously, a great quarterback and that made the difference.Baltimore (7-5) lost at home in November for the first time since 2009. The Ravens, who were 11-0 all-time at home against West Coast teams, fell 1 1-2 games behind AFC North leader Cincinnati.The defence accepted the blame, even though it forced two turnovers.In the NFL, nothing is game, set, match as long as there is time on the clock, linebacker Terrell Suggs said. Were up 10 at home in the fourth quarter and our offence gave us 33 points and usually thats enough. It wasnt. Thats why this is extremely disappointing.The Ravens last lost a game when they scored 30 points in October 2009, a 33-31 defeat at Minnesota. The last time it happened at home was in 2007, 33-30 in overtime against Cleveland.Joe Flacco threw for two scores for Baltimore, which wasted four field goals from Justin Tucker and 106 yards rushing from Justin Forsett.It was 23-20 before Flacco directed a 12-play drive that seemingly provided the Ravens with some breathing room. A 31-yard completion to Jacoby Jones, followed by a pass interference call against Shareece Wright, led to the third-down quarterback sneak that made it a 10-point game.Rivers responded with a 77-yard drive, capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass to Allen with 3:40 remaining.Jones took the kickoff 72 yards to the San Diego 30, setting up Tuckers fourth field goal. It wasnt enough for the Ravens, who hadnt lost at home since the season opener.San Diego, on the other hand, got off to an excellent start in a season-ending stretch drive that began in Baltimore and concludes with games against New England, Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City.The players never gave up and we just kept plugging away, coach Mike McCoy said. Thats what good teams do. The character of our team once again showed up, and when youve got a great quarterback like Philip Rivers, you got a chance to win every game just as long as theres time left on the clock.Rivers longest completion of the year, a 59-yarder to Malcom Floyd, led to a 26-yard field goal by Nick Novak to bring the Chargers to 16-13 early in the third quarter.On the ensuing drive, Flacco misfired from the San Diego 39. But Eric Weddle inexplicably pushed Flacco to the ground, drawing a roughing-the-passer penalty. Five plays later, Flacco connected with Torrey Smith on a 10-yard pass for a 23-13 lead.San Diegos only punt came with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Ravens lone punt occurred with 23 seconds to go in the period.The Chargers converted all seven third-down tries in the first half, but Baltimore took advantage of two turnovers and scored on all four of its possessions for a 16-10 lead.Notes: Forsett went over 1,000 yards for the first time in his seven-year career. Hes at 1,009. ... Baltimore WR Marlon Brown landed hard on his back after making a first-down catch in the first quarter and left with a concussion. ... Chargers C Chris Watt took a hit on his calf in the third quarter and did not return.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Wholesale NFL Jerseys ." One game is checked off, 15 remain and the next one to get crossed out could come Tuesday night when the defending champion Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. Jerseys NFL Cheap . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. http://www.cheapnfljerseysbest.com/. It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. Wholesale NFL Store . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. Discount NFL Jerseys .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown.It is the summer of 2012 and Brendan Rodgers is on the outfield grass at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Liverpool manager has been in the job two months but already he knows the weight the clubs crest on his shirt carries. It is a weight he tries to ease with every careful word that leaves his mouth and lands on the newspaper pages back home. Rodgers approaches the fence to say hello to the some passionate Liverpool supporters. "Are we going to win the league this year?" asks one. The new boss ducks the question with a smile. He, more than most, knows exactly what he has inherited. For a club like Liverpool this is rock bottom. It is the first time in the Premier League era that Liverpool have finished outside of the top four in three successive seasons. The previous season, under Kenny Dalglish, the Reds achieved their fewest amount of wins in a Premier League campaign, winning just 14 of 38 games on their way to an eighth place finish. They scored just 24 home goals in that 2011-12 campaign, their lowest amount since 1903-04. In the two seasons under Roy Hodgson and Dalglish, Liverpool lost 21 of 38 away league matches. During that time they spent over 100 million pounds on players called Andy Carroll, Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Jonjo Shelvey, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jose Enrique, Sebastian Coates and Danny Wilson. Many of these average, overpriced players stood just yards away from Rodgers on the Fenway grass and if he really wanted to give an answer to such a ludicrous question all he would have needed to do was open up his arms and nod his head in their direction. It is August 18th, 2012 and the club is at The Hawthorns for a game against West Bromwich Albion to start their first season under Rodgers. There is evidence of a change in style as a scoreless game gets close to half-time but then Zoltan Gera blasts a screamer into the top corner and Rodgers is forced to make his first half-time team talk as a losing manager. It goes from bad to worse in the second half as Daniel Agger is sent off and Liverpool lose 3-0. "Well have more days like this, thats the reality," said Rodgers after the game. It is August 26th, 2012 and eight days after their opening day loss the Reds are at home against the champions, Manchester City. They take the lead twice but are forced to take a point when central defender Martin Skrtel, attempting to play the way Rodgers desires, keeps the ball too long and plays a mistimed back pass to his goalkeeper, one that is intercepted by Carlos Tevez who scores to make it 2-2. The Being: Liverpool cameras follow Rodgers after the match and once again he chooses words carefully, but this time shows just how much he is aware of Liverpools plight. "We are at the beginning of a process where we hope to build to make this club competitive again. People have asked me are we going to win the league? It is ridiculous to even say that. All of that takes time, hours. I came here not because it was an easy job, but because it was an extremely difficult job." Rodgers would be proved correct. Liverpool would score more than one goal in just four of their opening 15 games of last season. It is the last week in March 2013 and Steven Gerrard places the ball on the penalty spot at Villa Park. The England captain blasts home the winning goal to give the Reds their fourth win in their last five games. In the 13 league games after Christmas they have scored 32 goals after netting just 23 in the first 17 matches. There is a resilience about the group, featuring intelligent pressure on the ball, a cohesion to their attack and an aggressive tempo to their style, particularly in their passing and defensive game, that never existed under Dalglish.dddddddddddd "People have said we have turned the corner but I dont think were at the corner yet, weve still got a long way to go," said Rodgers that day at Villa Park. Five clean sheets in their last seven games of the season helped Liverpool finish on 61pts in seventh spot. They had moved up just one spot than the previous year under Dalglish but the table didnt tell the full story of progression. In the first half of the season they had scored 28 goals and claimed 25pts. They were a team on pace to finish 8th/9th with a total in the low 50s. They fell behind ten times and came from behind to win just once, losing six. In the second half of the season they had scored 43 goals and claimed 36pts. They were a team that would have finished in the top four with a total in the 70s over a full season. They fell behind nine times and came from behind three times, losing just twice. It is August 2013 inside Anfield and a buoyant crowd is excited for the opening day of a new season. Unlike the year previous, the schedule makers have been kind to Rodgers and his team. Seven of their first eight opponents didnt finish in the top half of the league last season. Their first opponents, Stoke City, are one of them but after a thoroughly dominating performance, the Reds are up by a single goal to nil in the final minute when the visitors are awarded a penalty. It is only game one of 38, spread across ten months, but new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet makes the biggest save he will make all season and another Rodgers signing, Daniel Sturridge, scores the game winner. It is now, well and truly, a team molded by Rodgers. The manager, known to hold back on predictions and grand statements, has no such reservations about Sturridge: "I think he can be one of the top scorers in the league this year." How right he was. With Luis Suarez suspended, the former Manchester City and Chelsea striker scores in each of the clubs first four games to lay a foundation for the team to build on. The Reds would lose just two of their first 17 matches before suffering back-to-back narrow defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea in the span of four days. In 13 Premier League games in January, February and March, Liverpool went on to win 11 and draw two. They arrived for their game at West Ham on Sunday as, by far, the best team in the league for over three months. It is the first Sunday in April. The Upton Park pitch is playing slow and Liverpools style isnt working as well as it has in previous weeks. Rodgers makes another tactical adjustment and the versatility his team has shown so often this season comes to the forefront once again. Liverpool finds another way to win another type of football match. As night falls on Merseyside the team arrives home knowing just how close they are to achieving the impossible dream. Five games to go and still they lead this enthralling Premiership race. In April 2012, one of the most iconic sports franchises was on their knees with a pathetic 46pts through 33 matches. Down the stretch they lost to West Brom, Fulham and Swansea. It is little wonder Rodgers is the calmest man in this title race. Not even he imagined all of this would come so soon. There is no award for man of the year in English football but it is, without question, Rodgers who deserves such an honor. That question, that once seemed so ridiculous, that one that Rodgers laughed off, is no longer funny. He may continue to not answer it but deep down he now knows the answer. Liverpool cannot just win the Premier League, the way they are playing they should win it. Five games to go to complete one of the biggest turnarounds English football has ever witnessed. ' ' '