Jerry Attaochu, Jason Verrett & Floyd Impress In Chargers Loss
By Joel Burdeos
San Diego, CA- Despite the disappointing 18-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the season opener last night, there were some bright spots in the game.
More from San Diego Chargers
- No Playoffs For Chargers In Loss To Chiefs
- State Of The Union: San Diego Chargers Offense/Defense Week 17
- State Of The Union: San Diego Chargers Injuries Week 17
- Chargers Shock 49ers in Huge Comeback Victory
- State Of The Union: San Diego Chargers Offense Week 16
Rookies Jerry Attaochu and Jason Verrett impressed the entire night making big plays all over the field throughout the game. Malcom Floyd looked healthy and performed well in his return to the Chargers lineup after missing most of last season with what some called a career ending neck injury.
Linebacker Jerry Attaochu made his presence felt throughout the game with a blocked punt in the 2nd quarter to give the Chargers struggling offense the ball at the Cardinals 17-yard line, which allowed Nick Novak to kick a 36-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. Attaochu continued to make an impact in the second half, as midway through the 3rd quarter Attaochu strip-sacked Carson Palmer to give the Chargers the ball and allowed them to extend their lead to 17-6. Attaochu finished the game with three tackles, a strip-sack and a blocked a punt in his NFL debut.
Live Feed
FanSided
Chargers 1st-round draft pick, cornerback Jason Verrett provided excellent man-to-man coverage the entire game. Verrett finished the game with four total tackles. Verrett held Pro-Bowl wide-receiver Larry Fitzgerald to only one catch the entire game, proving that he is more than capable of covering tall receivers in the NFL.
Most Chargers fans did not expect Floyd to return to the NFL, but he wasn’t ready for his career to end yet and worked extremely hard in the off-season to recover from his injury and return to the field last night for his 33rd birthday. Floyd caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.