San Francisco 49ers

Memory Lane: Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Thursday night marks the fourth and final preseason game for the San Diego Chargers as they host the San Francisco 49ers. Usually, the last preseason game is one of the most boring spectacles for fans to watch. However, all eyes will be on Colin Kaepernick tonight as he has vowed to sit as San Diego honors the military during tonight’s game.

Dec 20, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers tackle D.J. Fluker (76) celebrates after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

It seems like Kaepernick and the 49ers are always trying to play spoilers against the Chargers. Two years ago, in late December, the Chargers went into Levi’s Stadium needing a win to stay alive to qualify for the playoffs. A battered Philip Rivers and company quickly found themselves down by 21 points at the halfway mark. The Chargers captain was banged up, nursing both a back and chest injury. He was down but certainly not out. In one of his grittiest performances ever, Rivers rallied the troops to overcome a three-score deficit. With less than four

December 20, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) celebrates after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

minutes left in the 4th quarter, RIvers led the Chargers on an 80-yard scoring drive. The Chargers QB completed a number of 4th-and-longs without star players Keenan Allen and Ryan Mathews to keep the drive alive. On the 14th play of the drive, with 29 seconds left, Rivers found Malcom Floyd in the end zone to tie the game up and force overtime. In overtime, All-Pro safety Eric Weddle forced a fumble on Quinton Patton which was recovered by defensive lineman Sean Lissemore. This set up the game-winning field goal by Nick Novak to seal the victory for the Chargers.

This was a great memory for all Chargers fans but it does not erase the embarrassing loss to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. San Francisco thoroughly defeated San Diego in every aspect of that game. The Chargers were simply over matched and were defeated 49-26.

Overall the Chargers and 49ers are even in their series history against each other. San Diego has won the last four match ups to tie the series at 7-7. During these 14 encounters, the 49ers have outscored the Chargers by over 75 points, 396-320.

[subsribe]