NFL News & Analysis

Refocused: Los Angeles Chargers 27, New York Giants 22

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 08: Tre Boston #33 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrates with his team after his fourth quarter interception against the New York Giants during an NFL game at MetLife Stadium on October 8, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New York Giants 27-22. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Chargers scored 12 unanswered points to rally from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter to upset the New York Giants on their own turf, 27-22.

Leading the Bolts' comeback efforts, third-year running back Melvin Gordon recorded 163 yards from scrimmage and two receiving touchdowns.

Similarly, Giants running backs Wayne Gallman and Orleans Darkwa both put together strong performances, as the two combined for 123 yards and one touchdown (Darkwa) on just 19 carries.

Working against his Gallman and Darkwa's success, Giants quarterback Eli Manning coughed up two fourth-quarter turnovers to gift the Chargers their first win of the season.

With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.

Top 5 Grades:

Edge Melvin Ingram, 84.3 overall grade

Edge Joey Bosa, 81.4 overall grade

RB Melvin Gordon, 81.1 overall grade

OT Joe Barksdale, 79.1 overall grade

S Tre Boston, 78.9 overall grade

Performances of Note:

RB Melvin Gordon, 81.1 overall grade

Even though Gordon allowed a quarterback hurry in pass protection and dropped a pass on a swing route, he made up for his mistakes in the passing game as he led the Chargers with six receptions. Furthermore, Gordon caught two touchdowns while Philip Rivers had a passer rating of 134.4 when targeting him, which was the highest among all Chargers players. In addition, Gordon was dominant in the running game as well forcing four missed tackles and averaged 3.6 yards after contact on his 20 carries.

QB Philip Rivers, 75.8 overall grade

While his box score stats might not look good, Rivers was victimized by seven dropped passes from his receivers and actually had an adjusted completion percentage of 71.8 percent after accounting for dropped passes and throwaways. In addition, while Rivers was under pressure on 37.8 precent of his dropbacks, he impressed on these plays as all three of his touchdown passes came when he was under pressure and he had a passer rating of 91.9 in these situations compared to just 59.6 when he was kept clean.

Edge Melvin Ingram, 84.3 overall grade

Ingram was one of a pair of Chargers edge defenders who dominated this afternoon, picking up two sacks, and two hurries on 38 pass-rushing opportunities. That was good enough for a pass-rushing productivity rating of 9.5. Particularly tough for the Giants to pick up on stunts, he also forced and recovered a fumble.

Edge Joey Bosa, 81.4 overall grade

Ingram's partner-in-crime was also dominant, proving too much for the Giants to handle. His two sacks, two hits and one hurry on 40 pass-rushing snaps gave him a pass-rushing productivity rating of 11.2. Against the run, he produced a run stop percentage of 11.1 percent, with two tackles resulting in a defensive stop from 18 snaps against the run.

Top 5 Grades:

DI Damon Harrison, 91.2 overall grade

OT Ereck Flowers, 85.4 overall grade

HB Wayne Gallman, 83.8 overall grade

DI Dalvin Tomlinson, 83.6 overall grade

G Justin Pugh, 81.6 overall grade

Performances of Note:

WR Odell Beckham Jr., 81.5 overall grade

Before his injury late in the game, Beckham was a nightmare for the Chargers secondary, leaving cornerback Casey Hayward grasping at air on a slant-and-go for a long touchdown. The Giants weren't afraid to go after Hayward, who has been one of our top graded cornerbacks this season, with the Giants top receiver finishing with three of his catches and 78 of his yards coming against him.

HB Wayne Gallman, 83.8 overall grade

The Giants rookie running back made the most of his opportunities today with Paul Perkins out hurt, forcing three missed tackles on 11 carries, and averaging 3.8 yards after contact per carry. He was also heavily featured in the passing game with the Giants losing three receivers to injury, and finished the game with five targets, tied for second most on the team.

DI Damon Harrison, 91.2 overall grade

Harrison was his usual dominant self in the running game as he consistently stood up Chargers offensive linemen and recorded four defensive stops on just 21 snaps against the run. However, what was more impressive is that Harrison was one of the Giants' best pass-rushers against Los Angeles. Even though he recorded just two total pressures coming into the game, the former New York Jet picked up four quarterback hurries on 24 pass-rushing snaps against the Chargers.

DI Dalvin Tomlinson, 83.6 overall grade

Tomlinson continues to have an impressive rookie campaign as he made his presence felt in the running game even without dominating the stat sheet as he recorded just one assisted tackle. Nevertheless, the former Alabama player wrecked havoc in the middle of the Chargers offensive line and rarely got moved off his spot. However, there's still room for improvement for Tomlinson as he failed to record a single pressure on 24 pass-rushing snaps.

PFF Game Ball: Damon Harrison, DI

*Grades are subject to change upon review

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit, with League Sync, Live Draft Assistant, PFF Grades & Data Platform that powers all 32 Pro Teams

$31 Draft Kit Fee + $8.99/mo
OR
$89.88/yr + FREE Draft Kit