San Diego, CA
Takeaways as Chargers avoid embarrassment, beat Bengals 34-27
The Los Angeles Chargers can finally breathe.
After blowing a 27-6 lead with 21 unanswered points, the Chargers eventually staved off the Cincinnati Bengals with a key 34-27 win on Week 11 of Sunday Night Football.
Los Angeles dominated the first half en route to a 24-6 cushion at halftime, which extended to 27-6 in the early minutes of the third quarter.
But Cincinnati woke up from that point on and scored 21 unanswered to stun the SoFi Stadium crowd. However, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson blew two opportunities to give Cincinnati the lead, eventually resulting in J.K. Dobbins’ game-winning run. Justin Herbert also threw multiple dimes to move the chains.
The result moved Los Angeles to 7-3 to maintain its spot near the top of the tight AFC while Cincinnati disappointingly fell to 4-7, where there is almost no more room for error the rest of the way.
Let’s analyze the game further with three takeaways:
Kickers are important
Of course it’s impossible to tell how the game would’ve ended if McPherson made his field goals late on, but it further amplified the importance of kickers.
McPherson’s two late misses failed to give Cincinnati the lead to capitalize on the hard work the offense and defense did to knot the game at 27 all. He did so on back-to-back drives too, missing from 48 and 51 yards out.
He made two first-half field goals, with a long of 27. However, he’ll obviously be known for his misses that may have finally derailed Cincinnati’s underwhelming season.
Chargers avoid embarassment
Los Angeles may have had flashbacks to the 2023 playoffs (2022 season) when it traveled to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs.
The Chargers in that game led 27-0 and looked well on their way to advance to the divisional round under Brandon Staley, but infamously allowed a comeback that saw Jacksonville win 31-30.
Los Angeles didn’t return to the playoffs last season with Staley still at the helm, but Jim Harbaugh has helped lead a resurgence in just his first season with the franchise. He didn’t allow a repeat of that performance, though they did need some luck this time.
Are the Chargers contenders?
There’s still plenty of football to be played, but the Chargers are in a very propitious spot after 10 games in the books. At 7-3, they are currently in the No. 5 seed if the playoffs began today, which would set up a wild-card matchup against the Houston Texans.
Los Angeles still has its flaws — defensive injury inconsistencies and a lack of star weapons for Herbert — but it might just be decent enough to be a sleeper team in the conference. The 7-4 Baltimore Ravens and 6-5 Denver Broncos are the two teams behind them, with every other AFC team currently below .500.
Michael Ozanian, Senior Sports Reporter for CNBC, delves into the factors that make the Los Angeles Rams significantly more valuable than their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers.
San Diego, CA
Man fatally struck by hit-and-run vehicle in San Diego
A man in the Mission Bay Park community of San Diego was fatally struck Sunday morning by a hit-and run vehicle, authorities said.
The victim was also struck by a second vehicle and that motorist stayed at the scene to cooperate with officers, the San Diego Police Department reported.
The initial crash occurred at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in the area of West Mission Bay and Sea World drives.
The pedestrian was in the southbound lanes of the 2000 block of West Mission Bay Drive when he was struck by a silver vehicle also in the southbound lanes. That vehicle fled the scene, continuing southbound, police said.
A 28-year-old man driving his vehicle southbound ran over the downed pedestrian.
“That driver remained at the scene and is not DUI,” according to a police statement. “The pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Anyone with information regarding the initial crash was urged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
San Diego, CA
Here are the 9 San Diego County communities that set or tied heat records
San Diego County is known for having wet, cold weather in February. But it had numerous hot spells this year. And when the month ended on Saturday a high pressure system produced heat that broke or tied temperature records in nine communities from the desert to the sea, the National Weather Service said.
The most notable temperature occurred in Borrego Springs, which reached 99, five degrees higher than the previous record for Feb. 28, set in 1986. The 99 reading is also the highest temperature ever recorded in Borrego in February.
Escondido reached 95, tying a record set in 1901.
El Cajon reached 92, three degrees higher than the record set in 2009.
Ramona topped out at 88, five degrees higher than the record set in 2009.
Alpine hit 88, four degrees higher the record set in 1986.
Campo reached 87, four degrees higher than the record set in 1999.
Vista hit 86, four degrees higher than the record set in 2020.
Chula Vista reached 84, one degree higher than the record set in 2020.
Lake Cuyamaca rose to 76, four degrees higher than the record set in 1986.
Forecasters say the weather is not likely to broadly produce new highs on Sunday. Cooler air is moving to the coast, and on Monday, San Diego’s high will only reach 67, a degree above normal.
San Diego, CA
Francis Parker captures Open Division girls basketball title
OCEANSIDE — The Frontwave Arena scoreboard showed 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Up 16, Francis Parker’s win over Westview High School for the CIF San Diego Section Open Division girls basketball championship was secure.
“No, no, no!” Parker head coach Courtney Clements screamed to freshman guard Jordan Brown, telling her there was no need to score.
So Brown walked the ball up the floor, from the backcourt, across midcourt, a 1,000-watt smile etched across her face.
With no Wolverines defending her, Brown dribbled from side to side across the logo. Then, a fraction of a moment before the final buzzer sounded, Brown flung the basketball high toward the rafters, then was engulfed by teammates.
The job was complete. Parker’s first Open Division title in program history was secure, the final reading 66-50 on Saturday night.
Of those final seconds, said Brown, who scored 23 points. “It was a surreal moment, knowing we worked for this all year long. It’s amazing.”
One reason it was amazing was because the top-seeded Lancers (21-7) were a decided favorite, but were stressed by the sixth-seeded Wolverines (20-9). Led by UC Santa Barbara-bound senior guard Sarah Heyn (18 points in the first half), Westview led 35-28 early in the third quarter.
“I just knew I had to do whatever it took to win,” said Brown. “Whether that was defense or offense. I just wanted to win, period.”
Sparked by its defense, Parker closed the quarter on a 14-0 run. Westview’s final 11 possessions of the quarter ended with five missed shots and six turnovers.
Still, the game wasn’t over. Heyn cut the deficit to 48-44 with just over six minutes to play on a bucket. But with 5:47 to play, Heyn was whistled for her fifth foul on a reach-in.
“Knowing their best player fouled out, we sealed the win,” said Brown.
As for Heyn, who finished with 23 points, she sat on the bench and pulled her jersey over her eyes, hiding tears.
Clements’ thoughts when Heyn fouled out? “I hope we can put this game away now.”
That the Lancers did, outscoring Westview 18-6 down the stretch.
The Lancers’ players and coach were effusive in their praise for Heyn, a four-year starter.
“She’s a great player,” said Brown.
“She played phenomenally,” said Clements. “She played the way you would think a senior would play in a championship game. She played desperately. She played every possession like it was the last 20 seconds of the game. She was extremely impressive. (Heyn buried five 3s, missing only once from deep.) She should be proud of herself.”
Clements was proud of her team for another reason. After blowing out two-time reigning Open Division champion Mission Hills by 26 in the semis, some thought Parker might cruise in the title game.
“I figured it was going to be a fight, and it was,” said Clements. “It was good that our girls had to come together, had to stick together. That’s what this is all about, developing character via the sport of basketball. When the kids face adversity, they have to make a decision. Who do they want to be? They showed the best version of themselves. That’s what I want to remember from a game like this.”
Francis Parker’s primary color is brown, which is fitting for the girls basketball team. They are led not only by the freshman Jordan Brown, but also junior Brieana Brown, a strong, aggressive and athletic 5-foot-11 wing.
Brieana Brown scored 25 points and yanked down a team-best eight rebounds.
About the team in brown being led by the Browns (who are not related), Jordan Brown said: “It’s super cool. I love Bri and our story. So many people think we’re related, that we’re siblings. In reality, we’re not, but we play like it.”
Francis Parker and Westview both will advance to the Southern California Regionals.
Earlier in the season, Clements — who was dressed in all black for the championship game — confessed she wasn’t crazy about Parker’s primary color. Her mood shifted Saturday night.
“Brown’s doing well for me now,” she said.
Asked if Lancers’ Brown squared tandem represents the best one-two girls basketball punch in the San Diego Section, Clements gave the questioner a “What do you think?” smirk.
“That,” said the coach of the Open Division champions, “is a no-brainer.”
-
World4 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts5 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO5 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
News1 week agoWorld reacts as US top court limits Trump’s tariff powers
