Chargers Lose to Dallas in Overtime
It didn’t count, but no matter. For an exhibition game, this was a classic.
The Dallas Cowboys scored a 27-24 overtime win over the Chargers in front of 48,596 fans Saturday night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
This one had many of the elements associated with a playoff match: a touch of controversy, some individual artistry and all the suspense you could want.
If the early returns are any indication, San Diego fans are in for some hectic endings. Last week against Cleveland, a dropped pass at the end of the game was the difference between winning and losing.
This time, it took a 14-yard touchdown pass from Gary Hogeboom to Duriel Harris with 11 seconds remaining in regulation to get the Cowboys into overtime.
Then a 48-yard field goal by Rafael Septien with 6:54 elapsed in the extra period brought the Cowboys the win.
How close was it? Charger safety Gill Byrd deflected the pass snared by Harris, but the ball went up instead of down.
“A fluke,” Byrd said, “but those things happen.”
How close was it? Two plays before Septien’s decisive kick, linebacker Linden King trapped Dallas quarterback Danny White as he attempted a rollout, and dislodged the ball from his grasp.
“I thought it was a fumble,” King said. “I wasn’t trying to hurt Danny, but I had both his arms and I could tell he didn’t have the ball. I expected to look up and see someone running with it.”
It was quite a night for King, who had two interceptions and wound up with a bloody nose and cuts on his hands.
Charger Coach Don Coryell apparently thought King’s hit on White could have been ruled a fumble.
“If he fakes to a back or rolls out, he’s a runner, the same as any ball carrier,” Coryell said. If that were the case in the judgment of the official, White would not have been ruled down in the grasp of King, and the Chargers would have gained possession.
“I don’t know how they called it,” Coryell said. “I don’t want to get in trouble. Write what you saw.”
Apart from that piece of unpleasantness, it was a fairly rewarding evening for the Chargers.
Linebacker Mike Green scooped up a fumble and ran 43 yards for a score early in the third period. And there were four other turnovers forced by the Charger defense.
“This was a tremendous learning experience,” defensive coordinator Tom Bass said.
“Just getting into overtime could be a blessing down the line because we had five or six guys who had never been there in their lives. It doesn’t feel too good right now, but later, it could be a blessing. You can’t practice the things that happened tonight.”
Aside from the defensive pluses and shortcomings, the Charger braintrust liked the showing of No. 2 quarterback Bruce Mathison.
“I was very pleased,” Coryell said. “He was very cool and poised and he’s learning fast.”
It’s all but settled now that Mathison is going to be the backup for Dan Fouts this year.
The other candidates, Mark Herrmann and Paul Berner, haven’t played yet in two exhibitions, and they may not.
“We can’t give them a fair shot,” Coryell said. “We’ve looked at them in practice. We have to get Bruce ready to play.”
Tight end Eric Sievers caught scoring passes from both Mathison and Fouts to highlight the receiver corps.
The Chargers scored their first touchdown of the exhibition season on a 22-yard pass from Fouts to tight end Sievers midway through the second quarter.
Fouts played a bit longer than anticipated before yielding to Mathison.
The Cowboys had a 14-7 halftime lead as Hogeboom tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to Timmy Newsome with 26 seconds left in the second quarter.
Earlier, White dumped a short pass to tight end Fred Cornwell for the first Dallas score.
Green’s 43-yard fumble return made it 14-14 in the third period. Green’s run came after linebacker Vernon Maxwell jolted the ball from the grasp of receiver Norm Granger.
A National Football League official viewed a TV replay of the action and ruled that a fumble had indeed taken place.
The NFL is conducting a preseason experiment on the use of replays.
The Chargers, who forced five turnovers, converted a fumble recovery by Mark Fellows into a 29-yard Rolf Benirschke field goal late in the third quarter.
Benirschke, who missed a 45-yard try earlier, is 4 for 5 in exhibitions.