ATLANTA -- Quarterback Philip Rivers didn’t hold back when asked if the San Diego Chargers’ come-from-behind victory on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was a turning point for his team’s fortunes.
“It was huge,” Rivers said. “We haven’t won two games in a row in a long time. We haven’t had a road win in a long time, and we’ve lost a lot of games that have been close.
“A lot of games like this we’ve lost, and not the disastrous ones we’ve had last year. I’m talking about close games like this. Somebody has the ball late in the two-minute drive. We’ve lost those games the last two years.”
Indeed, the Chargers are 5-12 in games decided by eight points or fewer dating back to last season, but they’ve won the past two.
And one of the reasons for that has been the play of Rivers, who San Diego defensive tackle and Los Angeles native Brandon Mebane labeled his team’s Kobe Bryant, the ultimate closer.
The comparison makes sense, as Rivers orchestrated a fourth-quarter, come-from-behind victory for the 22nd time in his career in San Diego’s 33-30 overtime win over the Falcons on Sunday.
“When it comes down to crunch time, Philip is like Kobe,” Mebane said. “He is clutch, man, so I’m rooting to give him the ball, and he is going to take care of us.”
But Rivers isn’t the only one who’s been clutch for the Chargers. Their young and improving defense held Atlanta’s high-powered offense to just a field goal in the second half and overtime, allowing Rivers to chip away at a 17-point, second-half deficit.
Last week in a win over the Denver Broncos, rookie inside linebacker Jatavis Brown made a couple of game-changing plays to push San Diego to a win.
This week against the Falcons, it was inside linebacker Denzel Perryman’s turn.
The Miami product corralled an interception late in the fourth quarter and made a key tackle on fourth down in overtime to help lead the Chargers to victory.
Safety Dwight Lowery said the fact that different players can execute a big play on defense gives the entire unit confidence.
“At first they had some big plays and things of that nature, but it’s a 60-minute game,” Lowery said. “Obviously, we had to respond in the second half to give our team a chance to win the game.
“It’s not something we can hang our hat on yet, I think. There’s still room for improvement. But we know that if there’s a play that needs to be made, there are a number of guys on this defense that can make that play.”
The Chargers are clicking at the right time. At 3-4, San Diego is only two games behind AFC West Division leader Oakland (5-2), with the Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) and the Denver Broncos (4-2) a half-game back.
The Broncos host the Houston Texans on Monday night, then host the Chargers on Sunday.
After San Diego’s misfortunes earlier this season, Rivers hopes the Chargers can continue to build on the past two games.
“We flipped the script,” Rivers said. “It wasn’t quite the 17-point deficit that Kansas City had with 10 minutes to play, but it was a 17-point deficit nonetheless.
“I know it’s easier to say this after a win, but we came in at halftime and I must have said it seven or eight times that we’re going to win this game. Of course, I say that now but I was really saying that, and I think it was kind of that no panic, because we really believe that somehow we’re going to find a way.”