The Los Angeles Chargers beat the New York Giants, 37-21, in Week 14 of the 2021 season.
First Quarter
The Chargers won the toss and chose to defer, giving the Giants the ball to start Week 14. The Giants were able to drive to their own 42-yard line but the Chargers defense was able to stop them on 3rd-and-2 forcing the Giants to punt the ball away.
On the Chargers' first play of the game, Justin Herbert connected with Mike Williams for a 15-yard pass, but a few plays later were forced to punt. On the Giants' ensuing drive, Michael Davis broke up a pass on 3rd-and-6 intended for Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton. The broken up pass forced the Giants to punt the ball away once again.
Chargers running backs Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson put together nice runs that put the Chargers in the red zone on the Bolts' next drive. Ekeler was able to find the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run that put the first points of the game on the board. Kicker Dustin Hopkins made the PAT which capped off the nine play, 60-yard drive and made the score 7-0, Chargers.
The Chargers held the Giants to another third down, but this time, quarterback Mike Glennon connected with tight end Kyle Rudolph for a 60-yard pass that brought the ball to the Chargers' five-yard line. Two plays later, Glennon connected with fullback Elijhaa Penny for a three-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 7-7 after the PAT from Graham Gano with 1:35 left in the first quarter.
Second quarter
The Chargers were able to put together another scoring drive to start off the second quarter behind an 18-yard run from Ekeler and a 15-yard pass to tight end Donald Parham Jr. that brought the Bolts to the Giants 34-yard line. A few plays later, Herbert connected with rookie wide receiver Joshua Palmer for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Hopkins made the PAT and put the Chargers back on top 14-7 early in the second quarter. The Chargers followed that up by forcing the Giants to go three-and-out on the next drive.
The Chargers kept things moving on offense with a 25-yard catch and run play from Williams that brought the Bolts back into Giants' territory. The Bolts marched down into the redzone once again but this time were stopped by the Giants on 4th down after a false start penalty was called on Matt Feiler that forced the Bolts to settle for a field goal. Hopkins made the 27-yard field goal, making the score 17-7 with 4:15 left in the second quarter.
The Chargers were able to force the Giants to back-to-back three and outs and got the ball back 39 seconds left in the second quarter. Facing a 3rd-and-11, Herbert launched a deep pass down the field that was caught by Jalen Guyton for a 59-yard touchdown pass with 17-seconds left in the first half. Hopkins made the PAT, growing the Chargers lead to 24-7 going into halftime.
With passing 204 passing yards in the first half, Herbert reached 8,000 passing yards for his career, making him the second fastest player to reach 8,000 passing yards in a career. With 14 completions in the first half, Herbert set the record for most completions by a player in their first two seasons with 725 total completions in his career.
Third quarter
The Chargers received the ball to start the second half. A few plays into the third quarter, Herbert connected with Palmer for a 36-yard completion. The Chargers were able to drive to the Giants five-yard line, but the Bolts were forced to settle for a field goal. Hopkins made the 28-yard field goal, that made the score 27-7.
The Chargers were able to get the ball back quickly on the Giants 38-yard line as the Giants threw an incomplete pass on a fake punt. The Chargers were able to capitalize on the short field by kicking another field goal a few plays later. The 39-yard field goal from Hopkins made it 30-7 Chargers with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
New York faced a fourth down and as Glennon looked down the field, Joey Bosa came in for the strip-sack that was recovered by Justin Jones. The Chargers ended the third quarter with the ball on the Giants' 41-yard line.
Fourth Quarter
The Chargers continued to march down the field and put together another scoring drive to start the fourth quarter. This time, an 11-play drive was capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook. The touchdown and PAT, put the Bolts up 37-7 with 9:28 left to play in the game.
On the Giants' next drive, running backs Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker were able to put together runs that put New York in the red zone. A few plays later, Glennon connected with Barkley for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The score from Barkley made it 37-13 after the failed two-point conversion with 4:33 left in the game.
The Giants were able to drive down to the Chargers' 15-yard line on their next drive. A few plays later, Glennon found the end zone on a seven-yard scramble for the touchdown. The Giants elected to go for two again and were able to convert on a two-yard rush from Penny that made the score 37-21 with just over a minute left.
The Giants were able to recover the onside kick but a few plays into their drive, Glennon was intercepted by Nick Niemann which sealed the 37-21 win for the Bolts.
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