Detroit Lions vs San Diego Chargers Box Score on Sep 13, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 13, 2015

SAN DIEGO -- Danny Woodhead's 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter secured the San Diego Chargers' 33-28 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 404 yards and two touchdowns, completing 35 of 42 passes. He was intercepted twice while throwing for 400 yards for the seventh time in his career.

San Diego wide receiver Keenan Allen tied Kellen Winslow's franchise record set in 1984 with 15 receptions for 166 yards.

The Chargers scored 30 straight points to take the lead with 2:37 remaining.

Trailing 21-3 in the second quarter, San Diego began its charge when Woodhead took advantage of a jumbo offensive line package when backup tackle Chris Hairston was inserted as a tight end and lined up outside of left tackle King Dunlap. Woodhead took the handoff and went left, then cut back toward the middle for a 9-yard scoring run.

The Chargers advanced to the Detroit 19 in the closing seconds of the first half, but Rivers tried to hit Malcom Floyd and the pass was intercepted by cornerback Darius Slay.

San Diego's opening drive of the second half stalled on the Detroit 7 and rookie kicker Josh Lambo booted a 25-yard field goal, pulling the Chargers to 21-13.

The Chargers crawled to within 21-20 when Rivers threw his first touchdown pass in the third quarter, clicking with wide receiver Stevie Johnson from 12 yards.

Tight end Ladarius Green's 13-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown catch from Rivers put the Chargers ahead 27-21, but Lambo missed the extra point try.

Lions running back Theo Riddick caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford with about a minute left to close the scoring.

The Lions opened the scoring in the first quarter on rookie running back Ameer Abdullah's 24-yard run up the middle. He had little resistance getting to the second level, where he was left one-on-one with safety Eric Weddle. Abdullah gave Weddle a shake and he whiffed on bringing him down in the open field, resulting in a 7-0 lead.

The Chargers cut the deficit to 7-3 when Lambo converted a 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter.

Rivers tried to force a third-and-1 pass to Allen in traffic in the second quarter and the ball, thrown behind the receiver, ricocheted and was picked off by Glover Quin, who sprinted in for a 31-yard touchdown, pushing Detroit's lead to 14-3.

In the second quarter, Lions tight end Eric Ebron caught a 18-yard touchdown pass from Stafford, extending Detroit's lead to 21-3.

NOTES: Chargers icon Junior Seau was honored before the game with his Hall of Fame banner unveiled above Qualcomm Stadium. Seau's daughter, Sydney, spoke on the late Seau's behalf. ... Chargers WR Malcom Floyd, who is retiring at the end of the season, surpassed 5,000 career receiving yards. ... San Diego OLB Jerry Attaochu was unable to go with an hamstring injury, Attaochu is expected to be a key pass of the Chargers' pass rush. ... The Lions were without OLB DeAndre Levy (hip), their leading tackler last year. ... The Lions' season-opening, two-game road trip continues next week at Minnesota.