Finishing Kick Has the Chargers Gasping : Oilers Win in Last Two Seconds on Zendejas’ 51-Yard Field Goal, 37-35
No game is ever out of reach, and no lead is ever secure.
That, in essence, is what makes the San Diego Chargers so much fun if you’re a fan and so exasperating if you’re a coach or player on the team’s payroll.
After splitting a pair of overtime games the last two weeks, the Chargers lost to the Houston Oilers, 37-35, here Sunday on a 51-yard field goal by Tony Zendejas with two seconds to play.
“It was a fun game,” Houston Coach Hugh Campbell said. “Those last few moments can really get your battery charged.”
The flip side is, they could also get a coach fired if he lost too many like this.
The Oilers, with Oliver Luck replacing injured quarterback Warren Moon, were supposed to be the start of a stretch run by the Chargers. But the Chargers haven’t found the quarterback they can’t make into Pro Bowl material for one Sunday, and the fates don’t seem to favor them in desperate field-goal situations.
“It’s always a dream to win like this,” Zendejas said. “That’s the longest kick I ever made to win a game. Your mind just goes blank when you’re out there.”
The Chargers could identify with that last sentiment. They’ve had a lot of practice, most recently when the Denver Broncos blocked two field goals and beat them with a 60-yard return in overtime.
The plot was a bit simpler this time. Simpler, and all too familiar for the Chargers’ comfort.
After making five turnovers and trailing, 17-0, in the first half, the Chargers rallied to score on five of six chances and take a 35-34 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
An 11-yard pass from Dan Fouts to Wes Chandler gave San Diego the lead one minute after Mike Rozier scored to put Houston ahead, 34-28.
“I asked for the play, a delay route, and Dan called it, after I dropped one on the play before,” said Chandler, who vigorously punched a blackboard after describing his apparent game-winner.
The game they had all but given away appeared to be safely in the Chargers’ grasp.
Forget it.
The Charger defense yielded a 25-yard completion from Luck to Tim Smith, and here came Zendejas, who’d already hit from 46 and 52 yards.
After his kick penetrated the uprights, a trio of Charger defenders--Earl Wilson, Fred Robinson and John Hendy--removed their helmets and dropped to their knees in utter frustration.
“I couldn’t believe it happened to us again,” Wilson said. “It kind of hurts. We stopped them three out of four plays, but it wasn’t good enough.
“The worst thing is that this eliminates any playoff hopes we had.”
The Chargers (5-7) entertained visions of sweeping their final five games and, somehow, sneaking into the playoffs. They need not worry themselves trying to figure a way to qualify now.
“One play and we’d have won,” defensive end Lee Williams said. “When you score 35 points, you’re supposed to win. But this has happened to us time and again. There’s no excuse for it.”
It wasn’t the defense alone that lost this one. The Charger offense played its worst half of the year in the first two quarters. If the Chargers hadn’t surrendered three fumbles and two interceptions, they likely would not have been in the position of losing in the final two seconds.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Fouts said. “I guess you have to call it growing pains, or something.”
Coach Don Coryell said he expected the Chargers to come back and win despite their ultra-sloppy first half.
“Even though we played so poorly and stopped ourselves, I figured it would turn around in the second half, and it did,” he said.
There was no way to guess what effect this calamity may have on Coryell’s job security. Owner Alex Spanos last week denied telling a reporter that Coryell definitely would return. Earlier, he indicated he wanted a .500 record or better.
The Chargers hardly resembled a .500 team when they took the field before a slim crowd of 34,336. They were flat--make that flat awful--giving away two interceptions and three fumbles and falling behind, 17-0. It could have been worse. It probably should have been worse, since the Oilers generated only 10 points as a result of their gifts from San Diego.
The procession of turnovers began with a fumble by Lionel James at the San Diego 18 that set up Houston’s first score, a 16-yard run by Larry Moriarty. The Oilers drove 70 yards for their second touchdown, an eight-yard reception by Drew Hill.
The trouble spread as Fouts threw two second-quarter interceptions to Houston’s Bo Eason, the first double-interception game of his career.
The Oilers converted the second interception into a Zendejas field goal and a 17-0 lead.
An interception by Hendy at the Houston 11 enabled the Chargers to score late in the half on a one-yard run by Tim Spencer. “It wasn’t a great interception, since Luck threw it right to me, but it enabled us to go in on a high note,” Hendy said.
The third quarter began on a promising note--a 67-yard scoring pass play to James, the longest touchdown pass play of the year for the Chargers.
Following a 52-yard field goal by Zendejas, the Chargers drove 80 yards to move into a 21-20 lead.
Chandler made a 26-yard reception, and Kellen Winslow gained 22 yards preceding a couple of nice plays by James that got the Chargers into scoring position. The touchdown came on a plunge by Buford McGee.
The Oilers patiently hammered at the Chargers, moving 81 yards in 12 plays and moving back to a 27-21 lead on a short run by Rozier.
The lead once more swung back San Diego’s way, thanks to a couple of personal fouls on the Oilers that helped the Chargers drive 78 yards midway through the final quarter. Spencer’s 15-yard run put the Chargers ahead, 28-27.
As any San Diego follower knows, the real game was about to begin.
“It was kind of amazing,” offensive tackle Jim Lachey said. “Call it fate, or whatever. We all worked our tails off. Maybe it was just Houston’s day.”
Defensive end Fred Robinson knew it should have been the Chargers’ day.
“We should have won,” he said. “It really drains you emotionally to lose like this again.”
He’ll probably get used to it.