FanHouse San Diego Chargers

With 3:30 left in the game and his team trailing by three points, Philip Rivers had a chance.

He had a chance to win in New York with much of the nation watching. He had a chance to best Eli Manning, a man who refused to play for the Chargers and was eventually swapped for Rivers and another draft pick (which turned into Shawne Merriman). He had a chance to prove he was a winner, despite the fact that his team hasn't helped him win a ring yet. He had a chance to prove he belonged in the same conversation as the game's elite, and that he's just as qualified a quarterback as Eli.

And on the first play of the series, Rivers threw an interception. What happened next, though, rallied San Diego to a 21-20 win and defined the essence of Rivers as a player.

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Update (11/3/09): Chris Chambers has found a new home. The Kansas City Chiefs announced Tuesday they have been awarded Chambers via waiver claim.

San Diego decided to cut ties with Chambers on Monday, just one day after he had a 20-yard grab in a 24-16 victory over the Raiders. Even with the big catch his receiving total for the season was only 122 yards, and considering his base salary is $4.55 million, it didn't quite make sense for the Chargers to keep him.

However, Norv Turner stated it was also about the emergence of Malcom Floyd, who had recently overtaken Chambers' starting spot, and the need for roster flexibility on the defensive end.

Walt Daniels, a 66-year-old member of the San Diego Chargers staff, died Tuesday from injuries sustained when he fell out of a Qualcomm Stadium booth prior to Monday night's Denver-San Diego game.

""The San Diego Chargers' family is greatly saddened by the loss of Walt Daniels," the team said in a statement. "Walt loved the team and loved working in the press box on game days for more than 20 years. Our prayers are with his family and friends during this most difficult time."

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

I'll agree with the defenders of Dante Wesley on one front, but just one: he hasn't made a career out of being a dirty player. Sunday, though, he was. What Wesley did, whether intentional or not, was one of the most egregious things I've ever seen done on a football field. Honestly, I didn't even think I'd have to cover it for Zebra Report, but I've seen so many absolutely appalling arguments in defense of Wesley on comment boards across the internet, that I feel I have to. It's simply mind-boggling (and, as a football fan, a bit embarrassing) that some people seriously think his hit was, or should have been, legal.

SAN DIEGO -- Monday night featured perhaps the NFL's best quarterback battle this season, the duel between Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton, and it all but determined the balance of power in the AFC West, despite the fact that it's only mid-October.

Seriously -- who would have thought that Orton, once mistake-prone and reviled and probably still being burned in effigy by Bears fans, would now sit among the league's elite passers while guiding a 6-0 Denver Broncos team?

Make that the utterly dominant, AFC West-leading Broncos, who rode the franchise record-setting momentum of Eddie Royal returning both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the first half to preserve a 34-23 victory over the foundering San Diego Chargers (2-3).

SAN DIEGO (Oct. 19) -- A worker at Qualcomm Stadium has been taken to a hospital after falling out of the press box about three hours before the Denver Broncos played the San Diego Chargers.

The man was identified as Walt Daniels, a member of the Chargers' game-day staff.

Daniels appeared to sustain a head injury after falling about 25 to 30 feet out of a booth that was to be used by Broncos assistant coaches, and landing on the loge level. He was administered CPR before being taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

Before the season started, the San Diego Chargers were a sexy pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, while the Denver Broncos were a sexy pick to have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The two teams meet on Monday night in San Diego, and the Broncos are 5-0 -- shocking everyone, except for Rod Smith -- while the Chargers are toiling along at a 2-2 pace.

Join us at 8:30 PM ET for our weekly Monday night football live chat as we discuss all of the action.

PITTSBURGH -- Mike Tomlin wouldn't play along. Oh, it sounded like a good story. Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers' young backup running back, was benched in Week 3 because Tomlin didn't think he was paying close enough attention to his playbook. Mendenhall was contrite, and spent the week telling folks he hoped he'd get a second chance because he knew what he'd done wrong and was determined to make up for it. Willie Parker, the starting running back, went down with a toe injury, and Mendenhall stepped in and shredded the Chargers on national TV. Great story, but Tomlin says he isn't buying.

"I'm not going to take any credit for that," the Steelers' coach said when asked if he felt he'd motivated Mendenhall. "I didn't rush for a yard tonight."

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PITTSBURGH -- They watched, and they kicked at the grass and thought about how it all could have been different. The players on the San Diego Chargers defense watched their brilliant, tough, never-say-die quarterback, Philip Rivers, move the ball with ease on the Steelers late in the game, making a game interesting when it had no business being such. They watched, and they thought, "If only."

If only they hadn't put Rivers in that 28-0 hole. If only they'd been able to get a first-half stop on third down -- on fourth down, for that matter.

"One stop!" Chargers safety Eric Weddle said after Pittsburgh's 38-28 win. "If we could have just got one stop. Our offense is going to keep us in games, and for us not to be able to get stops, it hurts. I mean, they're converting third down after third down after third down. That's hard to handle."

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The defending Super Bowl champions may be facing a must-win situation Sunday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers host the San Diego Chargers in a rematch of last year's AFC Divisional Playoffs. This game, which is likely to be played in warmer weather than the last meeting, means a lot to the homestanding Steelers.

Pittsburgh is 1-2, thanks to back-to-back fourth quarter meltdowns. The heat is on with a Charger team that is trying to keep pace with unbeaten Denver atop the AFC West. Join us starting at 8:15 P.M. Eastern for a live chat, as we follow the events in Pittsburgh tonight.