By Tim Peterson
(Inglewood) – Justin Herbert threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Chargers to a 37-21 win over the New York Giants Sunday before 70, 240 at SoFi Stadium.
Herbert’s biggest throw came with 17 seconds left in the second quarter when he fired a perfect 59-yard strike to Jalen Guyton as he was being hit that Guyton caught in stride and strutted into the end zone for a 24-7 lead. If the Giants weren’t done already you could see the wind taken out of their sails on that play.
The Chargers cruised in the second half until the Giants scored two late touchdowns.
The Chargers scored first on an Austin Ekeler one-yard run to cap a nine-play, 60-yard drive with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
The Giants responded on the following series with a seven-play, 75-yard march. Mike Glennon connected with tight end Kyle Rudolph for 60 yards to set up a three-yard touchdown pass to former Norwalk star Elijah Penny to tie it at 7 with 1:29 left in the first.
The Chargers scored the next 30 points to end any hopes of a Giant upset.
The Chargers answered early in the second quarter. They drove 60 yards on 9 plays. Herbert found Josh Palmer on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put LA up 14-7 with 12:07 left in the second.
Dustin Hopkins booted a 27-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the second quarter to put the Chargers up 17-7.
After the Giants went three and out the Chargers got the ball back with less than a minute left. Herbert took advantage going over the top of the Giants defense with the huge 59-yard touchdown pass to Guyton. Guyton caught the dart in stride and strutted into the endzone for a 24-7 lead.
The Chargers took the 17 point lead into the locker room at halftime.
Hopkins kicked a 28-yard field goal for the Chargers on the opening drive of the third quarter for a 27-7 LA lead.
The Giants attempted a fake punt on fourth down on the next series but the pass fell incomplete and the Chargers took over on the Giant 38.
The Chargers took advantage with a 39-yard field goal by Hopkins to make it 30-7.
Early in the fourth quarter Herbert threw his third touchdown pass of the day, a one-yard toss to Jared Cook with 9:28 left to put the Chargers up by 30 at 37-7.
The Giants finally ended the run when Saquon Barkley hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Glennon to finish a 75-yard drive with 4:33 left for the Giants to make it 37-13.
After a Chargers punt the Giants scored again as Glennon scored on a 7-yard run. Penny scored on a run for a two-point conversion with 1:18 left.
The Giants then recovered an onside kick but Nick Niemann intercepted Glennon on the last series and the Chargers ran out the clock and picked up their eighth win of the year.
Herbert’s final numbers were 23 of 31 completions without an interception. Guyton hauled in 3 receptions for 87 yards and the big touchdown. Palmer had 5 catches for 66 yards and a score and Mike Williams caught 6 passes for 61 yards. Ekeler had 12 carries for 67 yards before he left with an ankle injury.
It was a, rough day for the Giants. Glennon, filling in for the injured Daniel Jones, completed 17 of 36 for 191 yards and two touchdowns and threw the one interception at the end of the game. Barkley had 16 carries for 64 yards and the touchdown receiving.
The Chargers improved to 8-5 in the season, one game behind Kansas City in the AFC West. The Chargers will host the Chiefs Thursday night at SoFi. The Giants dropped to 4-9.
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