Chargers Crush 49ers, 34-7; Vincent Jackson Grabs Three Touchdowns

For his part, Smith says it wasn’t intentional.

Jackson caught five balls for 112 yards and three touchdowns while Rivers was an efficient 19-of-25 for 273 yards. They were almost perfect.

But it’s not the offense that has the attention over at Bolts From The Blue -- it’s the defense. The Chargers have now given up seven points in the last two weeks.

With just minutes to go, the Chargers are cruising in what’s been a snoozer of a Thursday night game. San Diego leads San Francisco, 34-7.

Jackson’s third touchdown likely sealed a game that’s never been in doubt. The Charger defense still holds a shutout, limiting the 49ers to just 107 yards for the game. The Niners more punts, six, than they do first down, five.

The 49ers saw their best chance to get on the board so far, an 85-yard kickoff return that appeared to be a touchdown by Ted Ginn, called back because of an illegal hands to the face penalty to open the half. Instead of a spark, in the form of that kickoff return for a touchdown, the 49ers were forced to try and move the ball against San Diego’s stout defense. The results were predictable and the Niners went three-and-out.

Midway through the third quarter, San Diego leads San Francisco, 24-0.

Tonight’s opening drive covered 74 yards in four plays, with Rivers also completing a nine-yard pass to TE Randy McMichael, himself likely to get a little more attention than usual due to TE Antonio Gates being sidelined. San Diego’s pair of runs didn’t amount to much.

The Niners are in a tough position early, playing from behind against a tough defense in a prime time road game. QB Alex Smith and company have moved the ball well in response, driving to a third-and-short near midfield before calling a time out.

Join Bolts From The Blue to lament this situation with Chargers fans.

SB Nation’s Bolts From The Blue breaks down the numbers and says the Chargers deep threat will be in full force on Thursday night.

Check out Bolts From The Blue for the full breakdown by the numbers.

After starting the year 0-5, the 49ers have strung together a few wins including last week’s 40-21 victory over the Seahawks. The 49ers don’t do any one thing particularly well with the 26th ranked offense and 18th ranked defense but they do have some play makers on both sides of the ball.

A victory here is necessary for the Chargers if they’re going to stay in the AFC West race. They’re one game behind the Chiefs so more than likely they’re going to have to run the table and hope the Chiefs slipup to have a chance in the division. There are plenty of scenarios but if it comes down to a tiebreaker the Chargers have a few advantages over the Chiefs. The bottomline, though, is that they need to win out.