This was like old times, perhaps for the last time.
The fans showed up. The team showed up.
When we needed it most – to show it, to feel it – San Diego represented.
“This is what it used to be like,” Antonio Gates said to Philip Rivers as the two Chargers stars stood on the sideline midway through the fourth quarter.
Rivers heard a “You can’t run” chant as he watched his team’s defense thwart another Miami Dolphins drive.
He had to blink away the tears, and through them he saw memories.
“I saw Jamal out there standing over the ball,” Rivers said, recalling dominant nose tackle Jamal Williams.