2012 San Diego Chargers season

2012 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Norv Turner
General manager	A.J. Smith
Owner	Dean Spanos
Home field	Qualcomm Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
AP All-Pros	Eric Weddle, S
Timeline
Previous season Next season < 2011 2013 >

The 2012 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football league, the 53rd overall and the sixth under head coach Norv Turner. The Chargers failed to improve on their 8–8 record from 2011 and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, resulting in Turner's firing on December 31, 2012.

2012 draft class

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	18	Melvin Ingram	Defensive End	South Carolina
2	49	Kendall Reyes	Defensive Tackle	UConn
3	78	Brandon Taylor	Safety	LSU
4	110	Ladarius Green	Tight end	Louisiana-Lafayette
5	149	Johnnie Troutman	Guard	Penn St.
7	226	David Molk	Center	Michigan
7	250 [a]	Edwin Baker	Running back	Michigan St.

^{^[a]} compensatory selection

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #024; color:white; border: 2px solid #FFB612" text-align: center;" | 2012 San Diego Chargers staff
	Front office Owner – Alex Spanos Chairman/President – Dean Spanos Executive Vice President – Michael Spanos Executive Vice President/CEO – A. G. Spanos Executive Vice President/General Manager – A. J. Smith Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Assistant General Manager – Ed McGuire Senior Executive – Randy Mueller Director of Player Personnel – Jimmy Raye Director of Pro Scouting – Dennis Abraham Director of College Scouting – John Spanos Assistant Director of Pro Scouting – Bryan Cox Assistant Director of College Scouting – Mike Biehl Head coaches Head Coach – Norv Turner Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Hal Hunter Quarterbacks – John Ramsdell Running Backs – Ollie Wilson Wide Receivers – Charlie Joiner Tight Ends – Jason Michael Offensive Line – Mike Sullivan Senior Offensive Assistant/Special Assignments – Steve Fairchild Offensive Assistant – Steve Gera			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – John Pagano Defensive Line – Don Johnson Linebackers – Joe Barry Assistant Linebackers – Greg Williams Secondary – Ron Meeks Assistant Secondary – Cris Dishman Defensive Assistant – Shane Steichen Special teams coaches Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams – Rich Bisaccia Special Teams Assistant – Carlos Polk Special Teams Assistant – Byron Storer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Hurd Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Vernon Stephens

Final roster

colspan="10" style="background: #024; color:white; border: 2px solid #FFB612" text-align: center;" | 2012 San Diego Chargers final roster
	Quarterbacks 17 Philip Rivers  6 Charlie Whitehurst Running backs 27 Edwin Baker 44 Jackie Battle 36 Curtis Brinkley 30 Ronnie Brown 33 Le'Ron McClain FB Wide receivers 84 Danario Alexander 12 Robert Meachem 11 Eddie Royal 87 Micheal Spurlock 83 Michael Willie Tight ends 85 Antonio Gates 89 Ladarius Green 81 Randy McMichael 88 Dante Rosario		Offensive linemen 64 Colin Baxter C 66 Jeromey Clary T 69 Tyronne Green G 67 Rex Hadnot G 61 Nick Hardwick C 79 Michael Harris T 70 Kevin Haslam T/G 72 Stephen Schilling T 65 Louis Vasquez G Defensive linemen 71 Antonio Garay NT 94 Corey Liuget DE 91 Kendall Reyes DE 79 Damik Scafe DE 93 Cam Thomas NT		Linebackers 97 Bront Bird OLB 56 Donald Butler ILB 52 Larry English OLB/DE 59 Andrew Gachkar ILB 53 Gary Guyton ILB 54 Melvin Ingram OLB/DE 96 Jarret Johnson OLB/DE 57 Jonas Mouton ILB 95 Shaun Phillips OLB/DE 51 Takeo Spikes ILB 58 Demorrio Williams ILB Defensive backs 22 Chris Carr CB 20 Antoine Cason CB 40 Sean Cattouse FS 31 Greg Gatson CB 38 Marcus Gilchrist CB 23 Quentin Jammer CB 41 Corey Lynch SS 32 Eric Weddle FS 29 Shareece Wright CB Special teams 42 Kyle Nelson LS  9 Nick Novak K  5 Mike Scifres P		Reserve lists 13 Seyi Ajirotutu WR (IR) 98 Antwan Barnes OLB/DE (IR) 26 Atari Bigby SS (IR) 86 Vincent Brown WR (IR-DFR) 62 Brandyn Dombrowski OT (NF-Inj.) 80 Malcom Floyd WR (IR) 90 Aubrayo Franklin NT (IR) 78 Jared Gaither OT (IR) 15 Richard Goodman WR (IR) 92 Vaughn Martin DE (IR) 24 Ryan Mathews RB (IR) 60 David Molk C (IR) 25 Darrell Stuckey FS (IR) 28 Brandon Taylor SS (IR) 63 Johnnie Troutman G (NF-Inj.) 74 Reggie Wells G/T (IR) 47 Mike Windt LS (IR) Practice squad 77 Charlie Bryant DT/T/G 50 Phillip Dillard ILB 76 Logan Harrell DE 37 Arthur Hobbs CB 73 Kevin Hughes G/T 48 Anthony Miller TE 82 Kashif Moore WR Rookies in italics 53 Active, 17 Inactive, 7 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

The Chargers' preseason schedule was announced on April 4, 2012.

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
				Final score	Team record
1	August 9	5:00 p.m. PDT	Green Bay Packers	W 21–13	1–0	Qualcomm Stadium	ESPN/KFMB	Recap
2	August 18	6:00 p.m. PDT	Dallas Cowboys	W 28–20	2–0	Qualcomm Stadium	NFLN/KFMB	Recap
3	August 24	5:00 p.m. PDT	at Minnesota Vikings	W 12–10	3–0	Mall of America Field	KFMB	Recap
4	August 30	7:00 p.m. PDT	at San Francisco 49ers	L 3–35	3–1	Candlestick Park	KFMB	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
				Final score	Team record
1	September 10	7:15 p.m. PDT	at Oakland Raiders	W 22–14	1–0	O.co Coliseum	ESPN[a]	Recap
2	September 16	1:25 p.m. PDT	Tennessee Titans	W 38–10	2–0	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS	Recap
3	September 23	1:05 p.m. PDT	Atlanta Falcons	L 3–27	2–1	Qualcomm Stadium	Fox	Recap
4	September 30	10:00 a.m. PDT	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 37–20	3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	CBS	Recap
5	October 7	5:20 p.m. PDT	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–31	3–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	NBC	Recap
6	October 15	5:30 p.m. PDT	Denver Broncos	L 24–35	3–3	Qualcomm Stadium	ESPN[a]	Recap
7	Bye
8	October 28	10:00 a.m. PDT	at Cleveland Browns	L 6–7	3–4	Cleveland Browns Stadium	CBS	Recap
9	November 1	5:20 p.m. PDT	Kansas City Chiefs	W 31–13	4–4	Qualcomm Stadium	NFLN[a]	Recap
10	November 11	10:00 a.m. PST	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24–34	4–5	Raymond James Stadium	CBS	Recap
11	November 18	1:25 p.m. PST	at Denver Broncos	L 23–30	4–6	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS	Recap
12	November 25	1:05 p.m. PST	Baltimore Ravens	L 13–16 (OT)	4–7	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS	Recap
13	December 2	1:25 p.m. PST	Cincinnati Bengals	L 13–20	4–8	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS	Recap
14	December 9	10:00 a.m. PST	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–24	5–8	Heinz Field	CBS	Recap
15	December 16	1:05 p.m. PST	Carolina Panthers	L 7–31	5–9	Qualcomm Stadium	Fox	Recap
16	December 23	10:00 a.m. PST[1]	at New York Jets	W 27–17	6–9	MetLife Stadium	CBS[1]	Recap
17	December 30	1:25 p.m. PST	Oakland Raiders	W 24–21	7–9	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS	Recap

LEGEND

Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

^{^[a]} Simulcast locally on KFMB-TV.

     Indicates that the game was blacked out locally due to low ticket sales.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Oakland Raiders

The Chargers (1–0) won their season opener 22–14 against the Oakland Raiders after five field goals by Nate Kaeding and three botched punts by the Raiders. The Raiders Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo suffered a head injury in the second quarter. He was replaced by linebacker Travis Goethel, who had not snapped since high school. Goethel rolled two snaps to punter Shane Lechler, each giving the Chargers the ball in Raiders territory, and Lechler had another punt blocked by Dante Rosario. The Chargers scored their only touchdown in the second quarter after a 13-play, 90-yard drive resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to wide receiver Malcom Floyd.^[2][3] The Chargers failed to score four out of five times in the red zone.^[2]

San Diego led at halftime 10–6, and the Raiders did not scored a touchdown until 54 seconds remained in the game.^[3] Undrafted rookie Mike Harris made his first NFL start, filing in for left tackle for an injured Jared Gaither.^[2] San Diego protected Harris by having Rivers throw short passes; sixteen of Rivers' 24 completions were to running backs and tight ends, and he threw for 231 yards while only being sacked once. He did not have an interception after throwing 20 in 2011.

The win was the Chargers' eighth in their previous nine games at Oakland.^[3] It improved Norv Turner's record to 4–2 in Chargers' season openers. Running back Ryan Mathews and receiver Vincent Brown missed the game with injuries.^[2]

Week 2: vs. Tennessee Titans

With the win, the Chargers improved to 2–0 and started with such a record for the first time since 2006.

Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons

The Chargers lost 27–3 to the Atlanta Falcons, who remained one of three undefeated teams in the league. Rivers had one of his worst statistical performances, completing 21 of 38 passes for 173 yards, with two interceptions and a passer rating of 45.2. Running back Ryan Matthews made his season debut, and ran for 44 yards on 10 carries. However, he had a fumble inside the Falcons' 5-yard line. The Chargers had four turnovers to the Atlanta's one. The Chargers had not been held to three points since a 30–3 loss at Miami during the 2002 season. The Falcons improved to a perfect 3–0 all-time record in San Diego while the Chargers dropped to 2–1 on the season while suffering a television blackout in Southern California.^[4]

Week 4: at Kansas City Chiefs

The Chargers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 37–20 and started the season with a 3–1 record for the second consecutive year. San Diego forced the Chiefs into six turnovers, and they led 20–0 in the second quarter. Rivers completed 18 of 23 passes for 209 yards and two touchdown passes, but threw one interception in the red zone.^[5] Jackie Battle started at running back instead of Mathews. Battle was in 27 plays compared to Mathews' 21, and he had 15 carries for 39 yards with a team-high four catches for 42 yards. Most of Mathews work was in the fourth quarter when San Diego's victory was mostly already decided. U-T San Diego wrote that Mathews would have been expected to start were it not for his fumble against Atlanta the prior week.^[6] Nick Novak filled in for kicker Nate Kaeding, who was out with a groin injury, and made all three of his field goals.^[5]

Week 5: at New Orleans Saints

San Diego led 24–14 in the third quarter before the New Orleans Saints rallied for a 31–24 victory. The Chargers' Melvin Ingram was called for roughing the passer, nullifying a Drew Brees interception returned for a touchdown that would have put the Chargers ahead 31–14. Rivers had two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter: an interception that led to a Saints field goal and a fumble as San Diego was driving to tie the score in the game's last minute.^[7]

With the loss, San Diego missed an opportunity to take a two-game lead over the Denver Broncos for the AFC West.^[8] The Chargers dropped to 3–2 while the Saints would get their first win of the season and improve to 1–4.

Brees, a former Charger, broke an NFL record with his 48th straight game with a touchdown pass. He finished with 370 yards and four touchdown passes. Rivers threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns, both to former Saint Robert Meachem; they were Meachem's first touchdowns of the season.^[7]

Week 6: vs. Denver Broncos

The Chargers lost 35–24 to the Denver Broncos after leading 24–0 at halftime. The loss tied San Diego with Denver for the AFC West lead with a 3–3 record. Rivers had a career-high six turnovers, five in the second half. One of his interceptions and one of his fumbles were returned by the Broncos for touchdowns. He had four interceptions, including three in the fourth quarter.^[9]

The Chargers built their first-half lead after two special teams fumble recoveries and an 80-yard touchdown return by Quentin Jammer off a Peyton Manning interception. It was the first score of Jammer's career. Rivers also threw two touchdowns to Antonio Gates in the first half.^[9]

After the game, Fox Sports insider Jay Glazer reported that the Chargers used an "illegal stickum-type substance" during the game, and a Chargers equipment member was caught by the line judge hiding and handing out the substance to players, which was confiscated by the league.^[10] Chargers head coach Norv Turner denied that the team cheated, and stated that the object was a towel with a substance that dries footballs.^[11] The product was later identified as Gorilla Gold Grip Enhancer.^[12] On November 7, the league stated that the Chargers did not cheat, but fined the team $20,000.^[13]

Week 8: at Cleveland Browns

San Diego (3–4) lost their third straight game, 7–6 on the road to the Cleveland Browns (2–6). After blowing second-half leads the past two games in consecutive losses, the Chargers never led in this game. Both offenses struggled with wind blowing to more than 40 mph (64 km/h) and rain falling throughout the entire game. Rivers was 18 of 34 for 154 yards, but had a touchdown pass dropped by Meachem in the third quarter. With the Chargers forced to run because of the bad weather, Mathews ran 24 times for 95 yards. The Browns' Trent Richardson ran for 122 yards and a touchdown. It was the second game of the year the Chargers did not score an offensive touchdown. The last time San Diego failed to score a touchdown in two or more games was in 2000, when it occurred three times.^[14]

With the Broncos' win that same week, the Chargers fell into a second place tie with the Raiders in the AFC West.

Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chargers (4–4) won 31–13 in a home game against Kansas City (1–7), their second win in the season against the Chiefs. San Diego's defense scored two touchdowns, and Rivers completed 90% (18–20) of his passes, the fifth highest completion percentage in NFL history. Rivers threw a touchdown to Gates in the opening drive of the game, and threw another to Floyd in the fourth quarter.^[15][16] The defense followed with Jarret Johnson's sack of the Chiefs' Matt Cassel, which caused a fumble that was recovered by Shaun Phillips for a San Diego touchdown. On the next drive, Demorrio Williams intercepted Cassel's pass and returned it for a 59-yard touchdown.^[16]

Rivers threw for 220 yards, but had an interception in the red zone to end the first half. Danario Alexander started at wide receiver for an injured Meachem, and receiver Eddie Royal also sat out the game. Nose tackle Antonio Garay played his first game of the year.^[15] Some fans at halftime held a sign that read "Mr. Spanos, please fire A.J. & Norv." Team president Dean Spanos in January had decided to bring back coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith despite having won only three (3) playoff games in five (5) seasons (first year 2007), failing to qualify in the previous two season. Norv had a 3–3 playoff record with the Chargers between 2007–2009, the only years the Chargers made the playoffs during Norvs tenure.^[16][17]

Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

San Diego (4–5) lost 34–24 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5–4), dropping the Chargers two games behind division-leading Denver. The Chargers allowed touchdowns off a blocked punt and an interception after they led 21–17 at halftime. They had three touchdowns off 80-yard drives in the first half, when Rivers threw three touchdown while completing 16 of 18 passes for 218 yards and no interceptions. However, he three two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one that was returned 83 yards for a touchdown that he threw heading out of bounds to avoid a sack.^[18][19]

Alexander had five receptions for 134 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. Vincent Jackson, who left the Chargers as a free agent for Tampa Bay, had five receptions for 59 yards in his first game against San Diego.^[19]

Week 11: at Denver Broncos

The Chargers (4–6) fell three games behind Denver (7–3) for the division lead after losing to them 30–23. Denver linebacker Von Miller had three sacks and forced two fumbles as the defense rattled Rivers. "This is the best defensive team they've had since I've been playing them," said Rivers.^[20]

The Chargers offense was shutout in the first half. Their first 12 possession resulted in 10 punts and two turnovers. Rivers was 9-for-20 for 60 yards and an interception, and the running game had only 8 yards on 11 attempts.^[21] The Chargers first 9 points of the game were scored by the defense—an interception returned for a touchdown by Eric Weddle, and a safety by Shaun Phillips. Rivers threw for 198 of his 258 yards in the second half while throwing two touchdowns. Manning finished the game with 270 yards and three touchdown for Denver.^[20]

Denver swept the season series against the Chargers, giving them the advantage in a tiebreaker with San Diego if needed. "They're not losing four of six, I can guarantee you that," Rivers said in conceding the division.^[20] He was part of the 2008 team that trailed Denver by three games with three remaining before winning the division as the Broncos collapsed.^[21]

Week 12: vs. Baltimore Ravens

San Diego (4–7) led 13–3 with 7:51 remaining in the game before losing 16–13 in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens (9–2). The Ravens faced fourth-and-29 at their own 37 with 1:37 left when running back Ray Rice caught a pass one yard past the line of scrimmage.^[22] He ran to the 50-yard line, where he made three Chargers miss with a 90-degree cut to his left. Rice gained the 29 yards needed for a first down after escaping safety Eric Weddle, who received a concussion on the play as he was blocked by wide receiver Anquan Boldin.^[8][23] The Ravens kicked a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at the end of regulation, and made another 38-yarder to win with 1:07 left in overtime.^[22]

Rivers threw a 21-yard touchdown to Floyd and Novak kicked two field goals for the Chargers' scores. Rivers was sacked six times, but did not have a turnover for only the third time in 11 games; he entered the contest with 14 interceptions and four lost fumbles.^[22] The Ravens' fourth-and-29 was the longest fourth-down conversion in the NFL since 2001. It was the third time the Chargers blew a double-digit lead in the second half, including the earlier back-to-back losses to the Saints and Broncos. After being 8–0 under Turner in November from 2009–2010, San Diego fell to 1–7, the second-worst November record in the league since 2011.^[22]

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals (7–5) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:51 remaining in the game and defeated the Chargers (4–8), 20–13.^[24] San Diego surrendered 10 points in the final five minutes of regulation for the second consecutive week, and they lost for the fourth straight week and seventh time in eight games.^[24][25] The Chargers dropped to 0–5 in games decided by seven points or fewer. It was their fourth loss in a game when holding a fourth-quarter lead.^[25]

Williams intercepted Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and returned it for a 31-yard touchdown, his second score of the season. Rivers had two turnovers in the final 3:54. A fumble set up a field goal for the Bengals, and he threw an interception on fourth-and-10 from Cincinnati's 17 with 49 seconds remaining. The Chargers' offense was held without a touchdown for the third time in the season.^[24]

The Charger's home crowd of 54,980 was their lowest since 2004. It was their second straight blackout and third of the season. Meachem did not have a pass thrown to him for the second straight week; it was his fifth game without a catch.^[25]

Week 14: at Pittsburgh Steelers

With a surprising road victory over the Steelers to save their playoff hopes after losing four straight games, the Chargers improved to 5–8 on the season and 1–14 all-time in Pittsburgh during the regular season. The Steelers became the only AFC North team that San Diego would defeat this season.

Week 15: vs. Carolina Panthers

With the loss, the Chargers fall to 5–9 and are officially eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight year. The Charger's home crowd of 53,832 was their lowest since 2004. It was their third straight blackout at home and fourth of the season. With the way ticket sales have been going, San Diego's home finale against the Raiders is expected to sellout, thus ending the home blackout streak. Also, the team finished the season 0–4 against NFC Opponents and would see their first losing season since 2003.

Week 16: at New York Jets

Week 17: vs. Oakland Raiders

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Denver Broncos	13	3	0	.813	6–0	10–2	481	289	W11
San Diego Chargers	7	9	0	.438	4–2	7–5	350	350	W2
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	2–4	4–8	290	443	L2
Kansas City Chiefs	2	14	0	.125	0–6	0–12	211	425	L4

References

External links

• Official website
• 2012 San Diego Chargers at pro-football-reference.com

San Diego Chargers Formerly the Los Angeles Chargers Founded in 1960 Based in San Diego, California Franchise Franchise History Seasons Retired numbers Chargers Hall of Fame Anniversary teams 40th 50th First-round draft picks Starting Quarterbacks Players Coaches Stadiums Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Balboa Stadium Qualcomm Stadium Future proposals Carson Stadium Culture Fearsome Foursome Air Coryell "San Diego Super Chargers" Bruise Brothers Marty Ball San Diego Sports Curse San Diego Charger Girls Rivalries Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders Lore Holy Roller Epic in Miami Freezer Bowl Division Championships (14) 1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1979 1980 1981 1992 1994 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 Super Bowl appearances (1) 1994 (XXIX) League Championships (1) 1963 Current league affiliations League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: West   Seasons (56) 1960s–1970s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s–1990s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s–2010s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

San Diego Chargers seasons 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2012 NFL season AFC East North South West East North South West NFC Buffalo Baltimore Houston Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta Arizona Miami Cincinnati Indianapolis Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Carolina St. Louis New England Cleveland Jacksonville Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans San Francisco NY Jets Pittsburgh Tennessee San Diego Washington Minnesota Tampa Bay Seattle Draft Referee lockout (Replacement referees) NFL playoffs NFL Honors Pro Bowl Super Bowl XLVII