Chargers’ Offense Fails as the Giants Win, 20-7 : Five Interceptions and Two Fumbles Make It a Bleak Day for Fouts & Co.

It is one of pro football’s most deliciously ironic moments when the San Diego Charger defense feels compelled to stick up for the San Diego Charger offense.

Only a week after the Charger offense gained 500 yards, made no turnovers and routed Miami, 50-28, the San Diego defense was called upon to deflect criticism of the Charger attack.

“They’ve bailed us out so many times, we’re not going to say anything bad about them now,” linebacker Billy Ray Smith said after a 20-7 loss Sunday to the New York Giants.

“They pay us to stop the other team,” safety Jeff Dale said. “We can’t control our own offense. We did our part as a defense, but we can’t cry about our offense. I’m not putting down our offense. This is discouraging, but we have to live with it. Hey, the NFL is weird sometimes.”

Unlike a week ago, there were no halfbacks somersaulting into the end zone from five yards out. There were no rave reviews from the rival coach proclaiming this the most sophisticated offense in existence.

Instead, the Chargers’ attack was more a sandlot production than state of the art before a Giants Stadium crowd of 74,921.

Dan Fouts, the Charger quarterback, suffered perhaps his worst regular-season game of the decade. He threw five interceptions, matching his career high, and the Chargers also fumbled twice.

The Chargers, whose high tech attack normally carries the weight of a defense that for years has been pro football’s weakest, were harsh in their assessment of their performance.

“I played poorly,” Fouts said.

“We were pitiful,” tight end Kellen Winslow said.

“Our execution was awful,” assistant coach Al Saunders said.

The Giants, of course, had analyzed the Chargers’ nearly flawless win over Miami and implemented a defensive scheme that seemed to confuse Fouts.

Film of this game will be must viewing around the National Football League in coming weeks. What the Giants did was provide a host of clues as to how the Chargers can be contained.

“What we did was the exact best way to play them,” New York Coach Bill Parcells said. “People say you have to go all-out and blitz Fouts. But if you do that, you may give up 50 points.”

The Giants maintained pressure with a four-man rush, mixed their coverages and even managed to decipher where Fouts was going to throw several passes.

The Giants also borrowed from San Diego’s scheme of a week ago, when the Chargers kept the ball for 38 minutes 50 seconds and thus kept it away from Miami quarterback Dan Marino. The Giants controlled the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game, 39 minutes 44 seconds.

Following Parcells’ dictate, they stayed away from an all-out blitz, often denying Fouts with two deep cover men and five players underneath. They were even able to read Fouts a few times.

“He was telegraphing where he was throwing sometimes,” said linebacker Harry Carson, who wouldn’t disclose precisely how Fouts signalled the direction of his throws. “He’s a rhythm quarterback and we got him out of his rhythm.”

Fouts, completing only 19 of 43 passes, threw for 224 yards, while San Diego runners gained only 41 yards.

“I knew early in the game it wasn’t going to be my day,” Fouts said. “We couldn’t get any rhythm or tempo. Our first two series were three plays, then off the field. We never established anything.”