Charger Air Attack Brings Down Eagles, 45-38
Buddy Ryan, architect of the Chicago Bears’ infamous 46 defense, unveiled his new 45 defense Saturday night.
That’s 45, as in points.
The Chargers, with three quarterbacks passing for 598 yards, defeated Ryan’s Philadelphia Eagles, 45-38, before a crowd of 42,853 Saturday night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. It was the highest-scoring exhibition game in Charger history.
“Our defense looked like Swiss cheese--full of holes,” Ryan fumed. “It stunk.”
Tom Flick, the third quarterback employed by Charger Coach Don Coryell, completed 14 of 21 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Timmie Ware in the fourth quarter.
Combined with 111 yards by Dan Fouts and 200 yards by Mark Herrmann, Flick’s yardage enabled the Chargers to surpass the National Football league regular season record of 554 passing yards, set by the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.
Of course, this being just an exhibition game, the Ram record remains on the books.
Flick’s 52-yard scoring pass to Ware with 31 seconds remaining broke a 38-38 deadlock.
“It was a streak pattern and I broke inside,” Ware said. “Their defensive backs were susceptible to curls and post patters all night. I feel pretty good right now, but I won’t feel real good until I make the final cut.”
Believe it or not, neither Ware nor Flick guaranteed himself a job with the Chargers, according to assistant head coach Al Saunders.
Flick is engaged with Wayne Peace in a battle for a No. 3 quarterback job that may not even exist.
“He showed he can deliver in a pinch with a game on the line,” Saunders said. “He enhanced his chances, but it’s premature to say he’s going to make the final roster.
“We’re not certain if the 44th or 45th man will be a quarterback. We have to decide if we need a defensive back or linebacker more than a third quarterback.”
The Charger defense, which shut out the Dallas Cowboys last week, nearly beat itself Saturday night against the Eagles, according to defensive coordinator Ron Lynn.
“We made a ton of mistakes in the second half,” Lynn said. “I’m not pleased with the 38 points in any way, shape or form. But I would say we’re somewhere in the middle, if you average out last week’s game and tonight.
“I was disappointed that we fouled up so many things. Our secondary allowed some big plays, and we got soft against the inside run.”
The Chargers seized the lead with 4:09 to play on the second of two one-yard passed from Flick to Ware.
The Eagles then tied it, 38-38, on a 29-yard throw from Randall Cunningham to Phil Smith with 1:45 left.
Cunningham was a major problem for the San Diego defense with his scrambling as well as his passing.
Another problem was a knee injury to lineman Earl Wilson, who estimated he’ll be out a week to 10 days.
San Diego’s first touchdown--a 49-yard touchdown pass from Fouts to Gary Anderson--was a preview of what Charger coaches expect from the elusive running back/wide receiver.
Anderson likely will replace Lionel (Little Train) James as the featured attraction in Air Coryell this year.
Anderson, who has been dazzling in training camp, juked Philadelphia cornerback Evan Cooper after taking a short pass from Fouts. There was no one else to beat, and the Chargers grabbed a 7-0 lead.
Anderson later made a leaping 46-yard reception on the final play of the first half, giving him four catches for 120 yards.
Fouts delivered a 31-yard touchdown pass to Wes Chandler to make it 14-0 before yielding the offense to Herrmann and Flick.
Some very sloppy tackling by the San Diego secondary burned the Chargers for their first touchdown allowed in the exhibition season.
Philadelphia’s Junior Tautalatasi burst 65 yards as he slipped a tackle attempt by Jerome Tyler and then eluded three other Charger defensive backs.
The Chargers allowed another long touchdown late in the first half when Ron Jaworski teamed with Mike Waters on a 59-yard pass.
Under the direction of Herrmann, the Chargers moved the ball well, but managed just a 35-yard Rolf Benirschke field goal for a 17-13 halftime lead.
Herrmann, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 200 yards, pieced together a 78-yard drive that was aborted at the Eagle two by a Tim Spencer fumble.
Another drive ended with a 39-yard miss by Benirschke.
The Chargers turned the offense over to Flick in the third quarter, with early results similar to those of the preceding 15 minutes.
Flick tossed a 32-yard pass to Greg Meehan as the Chargers drove to the Eagle 22. But then the drive was ended on an interception by Eagle safety Wes Hopkins.
The Eagles took a 19-17 lead later in the third period on a 24-yard pas to Ron Johnson, who eluded coverage by Ron Milus.
Flick revived the crowd with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Trumaine Johnson that sent the Chargers ahead again.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s No. 3 quarterback, Cunningham, was creating complications for the Charger defense.
He scrambled 52 yards before being dragged down four yards shy of the end zone, then scored on a three-yard run and added a pass to Waters for the extra point.
Following a Flick fumble at the Eagle 30, Cunningham engineered another touchdown.
Cunningham ran 29 yards to get the 70-yard drive in motion. He then threw a 45-yard pass to Smith, which got the score himself on a three-yard run. This put the Eagles ahead, 32-24.
The Eagles were forced to abandon the conventional extra point kick when their specialist, Paul McFadden, reported a sore foot.
Flick gamely rallied the Chargers to within one point with a 77-yard drive that included passes of 16 and 22 yards to Pete Holohan.
Flick calmly teamed with Ware on a one-yard scoring pass. As the Eagles bunched for a run, he looked wide and delivered to Ware, who was by himself in the end zone.