The San Diego Chargers have condemned the New York Jets to their fourth defeat in a row as a breakout performance from Branden Oliver helped them to a 31-0 victory at the Qualcomm Stadium in the NFL.
The week five fixture will be one that the Jets will now want to forget as their listless display resulted in the first shutout that a side has suffered this season.
The Chargers were the first team to open the scoring, as Philip Rivers picked out an eight-yard pass to see Antonio Gates home for the touchdown, while Nick Novak kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
After some industrious play, San Diego thought they'd doubled their advantage in the second quarter only to see the touchdown recalled after rookie Chris Watt was deemed to have fouled.
The play was taken back and the original foul didn't seem to matter as Gates caught hold of a pass from Rivers, who had thrown from 12 yards despite being under the cosh from New York's defense.
The Chargers confirmed a commanding position in the game just before the end of the first half when Oliver completed a 15-yard rush, with Novak's kick making it 21-0 at the interval.
The third quarter proved to provide no let up for a suffering Jets side, as a 90-yard drive saw Oliver grab a nine-yard pass from Rivers to make it 28-0 and earn his second touchdown of the night.
Novak was on hand to kick the Chargers three more ahead in the fourth quarter with an effort from 34 yards, with the Jets unable to muster a response as they posted a pointless score at the end of Sunday's encounter.
Christopher Dodd
