A Keenan Allen dropped pass stopped a promising drive in the opening quarter. Allen finished with two drops on the day. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the first time in his five-year NFL career that Allen had multiple drops in a game.
Casey Hayward dropped an interception that he could have returned for a score in the first half.
And Joey Bosa jumped offside and stopped playing, resulting in a free play and a 5-yard TD pass to Bennie Fowler III from Trevor Siemian that gave the Broncos an early 7-0 lead.
Anthony Lynn became the first Chargers head coach to not win his debut since Marty Schottenheimer in 2002. Norv Turner and Mike McCoy both won their first games as head coach of the Chargers.
Speaking of McCoy, now the offensive coordinator for the Broncos, the former Chargers head coach had to be smiling after this one, as Denver appeared to be in the Bolts’ huddle at times.
However, the Chargers made things interesting late.
Down 24-7 heading into the fourth quarter, the Chargers used back-to-back turnovers to work their way back into the game.
Rookie Desmond King’s deflection on a pass to Fowler was picked off by safety Adrian Phillips.
The Chargers took over at Denver’s 43-yard line and six plays later, Rivers found Allen for a 5-yard touchdown, cutting Denver’s lead to 24-14.
The Chargers then forced a second straight turnover when linebacker Korey Toomer stripped the ball from Jamaal Charles, with Hayward scooping it up and returning it 11 yards.
With two minutes left, Rivers marched the Chargers into field goal position with the hopes of overtime.
Undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo made the first kick, but the Broncos called timeout before the snap.
On Koo’s second try with five seconds left in the game, his 44-yard attempt was blocked by Shelby Harris, helping the Broncos escape with a win.
Although the Chargers now sit at 0-1, they play their next three games at home at the StubHub Center, beginning on Sunday.
Rivers finished 22-of-33 for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Melvin Gordon totaled 54 rushing yards and Tyrell Williams led the Chargers with seven receptions for 54 yards.
LOS ANGELES — At last, Aaron Donald is back. The Los Angeles Rams’ star defensive tackle ended his holdout Saturday and passed his physical. He will not play in Sunday’s regular-season opener, and he still doesn’t have the contract extension he seeks. But he’s here, and that is a very important first step. I’ll try to answer some of the key questions regarding his situation.
Aaron Donald has been ruled out for Sunday’s Rams opener but could see the field in Week 2. Kevin Reece/Icon Sportswire
What is his roster situation?
The Rams sought a roster exemption for Donald, which is typical under these circumstances. It allows them to place Donald on the active roster — and thus ensure he gets paid for that game — without having to cut another player to get back down to 53. They’ll make that decision after Sunday’s game, and my guess is that it will be a center who gets cut. The Rams have four right now. Donald was previously on the reserve/did not report list.
What about his fines and compensation?
Donald was fined $40,000 for each day he did not report during training camp and the preseason, adding up to somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4 million. But as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, the Rams waived those fines. Pro Football Talk also reported that Donald will not lose any of his signing-bonus money. If his holdout would’ve lingered beyond Sunday’s 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff, Donald would not have been paid one of his 17 game checks (players are paid during their bye weeks). Donald’s base salary this year is $1,802,250, so he would have lost out on a little more than $106,000.
Tough to say right now. There’s little doubt on the Rams’ side that Donald stayed in shape while working out in Pittsburgh, but strapping on the pads and repeatedly taking hits along the interior is completely different. They’ll know more during practice this coming week, and they won’t rush him. If they’re confident he’s ready to play Week 2 against Washington, great. If they have to wait until Week 3 (the following Thursday in San Francisco) or Week 4 (Oct. 1 in Dallas), they’ll be fine with that, too. The Rams — and, clearly, Donald — are looking long term here.
Does this mean they’re close to a deal?
Not necessarily. Donald’s showing up doesn’t mean there has been a major breakthrough in negotiations. There really hasn’t been. The 26-year-old wanted to be back around his teammates, and, of course, he didn’t want to miss a paycheck. The Rams’ front office traveled to Atlanta the day before the final preseason game to meet with Donald’s representatives at CAA, but they didn’t really make much progress. They just want to keep the conversations going. I presume they will continue.
What’s the holdup?
It has been pretty clear to me that the Rams understand if they’re going to give Donald an extension, they basically need to make him the game’s highest-paid defensive player. J.J. Watt is the best comparison in this situation, because he was considered the game’s best defensive player when he signed his extension (with the Texans in 2014) and because he had completed only three NFL seasons by then. Watt’s deal ultimately made him the game’s highest-paid defensive player. There’s no reason Donald wouldn’t believe he’s worthy of that, too, particularly when you consider that the top earner at his position, Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, is very nearly the game’s highest-paid defensive player.
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With that being the case, I would have to think it comes down to either ensuring that Donald is the highest-paid defensive player for a while — which might mean blowing past the Von Miller deal, which includes $70 million guaranteed — or giving him as much of his guaranteed money as possible up front. That could be a little tough. The Rams have only about $4.5 million in salary-cap space, according to ESPN’s Roster Management System. They can restructure player contracts to open up more room, usually by turning base salaries into signing bonuses that are prorated over the length of a contract. But the Rams don’t like doing that. They like minimizing what they prorate to maximize their salary-cap flexibility.
The best bet would probably be to give Donald a big chunk of his guaranteed money as a roster bonus that would be paid next spring. But what if Donald suffers a devastating injury before then? Maybe that’s a concern on his side. Keep in mind: These are assumptions; I am not privy to what has been offered and what has been asked.
How does the defense look with and without him?
With Donald out, the Rams will start rookie Tanzel Smart at the 3-technique spot, alongside nose tackle Michael Brockers and defensive end Ethan Westbrooks. Smart is a sixth-round pick out of Tulane. Veteran offensive lineman Rodger Saffold, who blocks Smart every day in practice, said Smart has “outrageous potential.” But he is also raw and a bit undersized. The Rams are fully healthy now. And when Donald returns, they should look very good on defense, especially in their front seven, with Robert Quinn, Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron and Connor Barwin making up a strong linebacking corps. ESPN’s Football Power Index ranks the Rams defense 14th heading into the year, but Wade Phillips can do better than that.
The federal judge in the Ezekiel Elliott case just Richard Berman-ed the NFL. You remember Berman, right? He was the U.S. District Court judge who temporarily sucked the air out of Deflategate, setting Tom Brady free to play the 2015 season while taking a sledgehammer to Roger Goodell’s union-bargained system of justice.
The judge this time around, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant might never again have to pay for lunch in Dallas (Berman famously won a lifetime supply of free Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in Maine) if Elliott plays the full season and helps the Cowboys win the Super Bowl for the first time in 22 years. Mazzant blasted the league by granting Elliott and the NFL Players Association a temporary restraining order and halting the implementation of the running back’s six-game suspension for allegedly assaulting a former girlfriend, ruling that the NFL was playing this game on a field tilted dramatically in its favor.
“Fundamental unfairness,” the judge wrote, “is present throughout the entire arbitration process. … The NFLPA was not given the opportunity to discharge its burden to show that Goodell’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. At every turn, Elliott and the NFLPA were denied the evidence or witnesses needed to meet their burden. Fundamental unfairness infected this case from the beginning, eventually killing any possibility that justice would be served. Accordingly, the Court finds that the NFLPA demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”
Ouch.
On one hand, Mazzant is right: This particular NFL process is broken. A system that assigns Goodell the roles of prosecutor, judge and jury just doesn’t work, and the league office and owners have to work with the players to ultimately settle on an independent overlord of discipline. But on the other hand, the union, the Cowboys and Jerry Jones — once Greg Hardy’s chief enabler — shouldn’t be doing any end zone dances over this courtroom victory.
Elliott had earned his punishment, and after committing so many unforced errors while confronting (or not confronting) domestic violence, the league did the right thing in sending a message to players that one term of employment, above all, must be understood:
If you assault a woman, your career will be dramatically altered in a negative way.
Josh Brown, the former Giants kicker, just got six games added to the one game he’d already served for allegedly abusing his wife. Perhaps the NFL blitzed Brown before this latest Elliott ruling to get a victory on the board, or to prove it treats players of all skill levels, races and team affiliations the same when it comes to domestic violence. Perhaps not.
Either way, let us remember the league’s letter to Elliott informing him of the suspension said it found “substantial and persuasive evidence” that the 6-foot, 225-pound running back engaged in violence against the 5-5, 120-pound Tiffany Thompson “on multiple occasions.” Though Robert Tobias, principal assistant city attorney in Columbus, Ohio, said criminal charges were never filed against Elliott because of a lack of sufficient corroborating evidence, he did tell the league: “We never concluded that she was lying to us. We didn’t think that she was lying to us. … We generally believed her for all of the incidents.”
Tobias said Thompson’s injuries were “consistent with what she said had happened. … I feel like something definitely happened here.”
Elliott has consistently denied ever striking, choking or pushing Thompson, and he claims that she told him, “You are a black, male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to believe you.” Elliott also claimed that Thompson fabricated the abuse claims and threatened to ruin his life when their relationship unraveled. One of Elliott’s attorneys, Jeffrey Kessler, challenged her credibility by noting the league suspended his client based on three of the five incidents of abuse she cited over a week in July of last year.
Roger Goodell and the NFL have made mistakes in the past, but they are right to punish in this case. AP Photo/Steven Senne
“Why is that?” Kessler asked during the running back’s appeal hearing. “What you’re going to find is that the league itself did not believe her for two out of the five incidents the same week. Well, if she was lying about two out of the five incidents, that certainly doesn’t help the determination with respect to the three incidents they went forward with.”
Kia Roberts, the NFL’s director of investigations, was the league official who interviewed Thompson. Roberts also had concerns about Thompson’s credibility — the league found texts between Thompson and a friend in which they discussed the potential sale of sex tapes Thompson had of herself and Elliott and the possibility of extorting money from him — and would have advised against disciplining Elliott. Goodell never spoke directly with Roberts and instead relied on his senior VP/special counsel for investigations, Lisa Friel, and his circle of outside advisers. He then made his decision, opening the door for the federal judge, Mazzant, to assail the process and grant the restraining order. But it was more a question of process than evidence.
Thompson reminded everyone who has followed this case that there is no such thing as a perfect witness. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a victim of domestic violence. It’s still awfully hard to read the NFL’s report and the appeal hearing transcript and come away believing her former boyfriend never assaulted her.
And assaulting a woman even one time is worth six games, and the public shaming that goes along with it.
Elliott compromised his own credibility in this case in March, when he was seen on video at a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dallas pulling down a woman’s shirt to expose and touch her breast. (He would say in his appeal hearing that the woman later consented to have sex with him, as if that rendered his behavior at the parade acceptable.) For Elliott to act like this, while under league investigation for allegedly assaulting another woman, is to strongly suggest he doesn’t get it, and maybe never will.
In her original Instagram post — complete with photos showing her bruises — Thompson said the abuse “has been happening to me for months and it finally got out of control to where I was picked up and thrown across the room by my arms. Thrown into walls. Being choked to where I have to gasp for breath. Bruised everywhere, mentally and physical abused.”
After the sickening episodes involving Ray Rice, Hardy and Brown, the league had to make this stand. And now the league has to fight this case to the figurative death in the courts and continue making this necessary point:
If you hit a woman, your NFL career will end up getting seriously hurt.
