Philip Rivers showed the New York Giants exactly what they traded away in 2004, and this one really hurt the team that wanted Eli Manning so much. Rivers capped an 80-yard drive with an 18-yard pass to Vincent Jackson with 21 seconds to play and the San Diego Chargers stunned the Giants 21-20 on Sunday, handing New York its fourth straight loss. Rivers was 24 of 36 for 209 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Jackson, in helping San Diego (5-3) win its third straight game. It was the first meeting between the quarterbacks since the trade. The Giants are 5-4 heading into a bye week and not looking very much like a playoff team. Rivers also found Jackson on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. He hit Kris Wilson on a 2-yarder in the third to give San Diego a 14-7 lead in a game in which the Giants defense rebounded from a miserable efforts the previous three weeks. But they couldn't put the Chargers away when they had the chance. Terrell Thomas intercepted Rivers' pass late in the fourth quarter and returned it 33 yards to the San Diego 4. A holding penalty on first down pushed New York back 10 yards, and it had to settle for a short field goal and a 6-point lead. With just over two minutes to play and one timeout, Rivers marched the Chargers down the field. He hit Malcolm Floyd on a 12-yard completion, made two throws to Antonio Gates for 10 yards and had a 21-yarder to Darren Sproles that put the ball at the 18. On the next play, Rivers found Jackson in the right corner of the end zone for the game-winner. Rivers' touchdown pass to Wilson, which followed a short punt by Jeff Feagles, gave San Diego a 14-7 third-quarter lead before the Giants rallied. Manning threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Steve Smith and 8 yards to Kevin Boss, while Lawrence Tynes kicked field goals of 38 and 22 yards. Manning drove the Giants 60 yards in 10 plays and Tynes got New York within 14-10 with his 38-yard field goal. Continued... |