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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Alex Katson

Chargers vs. Jaguars first-half highlights

Chargers Jaguars Asante Samuel Jr Trevor Lawrence Austin Ekeler Los Angeles Chargers LA (Organization) NFL Gerald Everett Marvin Jones

The Chargers are dominating the Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card round matchup, leading 27-7 at the half.

To get caught up with all the action, here are Los Angeles’ notable plays from the first half.

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The Chargers got off to a scorching start.

On Trevor Lawrence’s first pass attempt, both Sebastian Joseph-Day and Joey Bosa got hands on the throw before it was intercepted by Drue Tranquill. Tranquill returned it 17 yards to give LA the ball on the Jaguars’ 18 and quiet the crowd.

The Chargers struck first after the Lawrence interception, as Austin Ekeler punched it in from 13 yards out to give LA a 7-0 lead.

Ekeler, who led the league in total touchdowns in the regular season, found a seam blocked open by guard Zion Johnson and tight end Tre’ McKitty and then stumbled into the end zone.

The Chargers had Trevor Lawrence in a blender to start the first quarter.

With the Jaguars facing 4th-and-7 from the Chargers’ 33, Doug Pederson elected to bypass the field goal and get aggressive. Asante Samuel Jr. responded, playing physical coverage with Jaguars receiver Zay Jones. Jones failed to get his hands up in time for the impending throw, allowing Samuel to secure his third interception of the season.

Samuel returned the ball to the Chargers’ 39, giving LA’s offense an extra six yards of field position to start their second drive.

Samuel played the first half of his life.

Running downfield with Marvin Jones, Samuel deflected a pass that was initially called as pass interference after Lawrence targeted them downfield. The flag was eventually picked up, as the referees determined that Samuel was playing in phase with Jones.

On the next play, Samuel sat in a flat zone and intercepted a Lawrence pass intended for Evan Engram on a drag route. It was Samuel’s second interception of the first quarter.

Ekeler’s nose for the endzone is second to none.

After Samuel’s second interception of the first quarter, the Chargers’ offense took over from the Jaguars’ 16. Three straight Ekeler rushes later, and LA was in the endzone for the second time tonight to extend their lead to 17-0.

It’s Ekeler’s 20th total touchdown of the season. Both of his scores in this game came from within the red zone.

Early in the Chargers’ fifth offensive drive, Gerald Everett was forced to leave the game with an undisclosed injury after being rolled up by Jaguars linebacker Chad Muma.

An official update was never released, and it didn’t need to be.

The next time the broadcast found Everett on the field, he was finding the endzone, hauling in a nine-yard touchdown from Justin Herbert to extend the lead to 24-0, Chargers.

Everett broke a tackle from Muma, the player who inadvertently caused his injury to begin with, to get across the goal line to give the touchdown an extra hint of revenge.

After dropping a series of interceptions early in the season, Samuel caught fire in the first half, reeling in everything even remotely in his area. With a 3rd-and-10 from midfield, Lawrence forced a throw to tight end Evan Engram, who had Samuel covering him down the seam. Samuel made a better break on the ball and came away with the interception, once again giving the Chargers plus field position.

Forced to punt for the second time, JK Scott lined up and delivered a kick inside the Jaguars’ 15. The ball rebounded off the helmet of Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks, resulting in a scramble for the ball.

Jaguars returner Jamal Agnew looked to have a clear path to a recovery, but Ja’Sir Taylor knocked it out of his hands before he could establish possession and the ball continued to bounce around before being recovered by Chargers linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga.

The recovery gave the Chargers the ball on the Jaguars 5, which LA converted into a second Cameron Dicker field goal to extend their lead to 27-0.

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