Chargers Top Colts, 17-3, in a Snoozer

A cab driver in Indianapolis was serious when he said the Colts were the best thing ever to happen to this town.

It’s scary to imagine what he thinks is the worst thing.

The Colts are 0-13. And they are boring.

In a snore of a game in the Hoosier Dome Sunday afternoon, the Chargers beat the winless Colts, 17-3.

When two teams with a combined record of 2-22 get together, as the Chargers and Colts did Sunday, offensive fireworks and a nothing-to-lose (except another game) attitude often pervade.

Not this time. The Chargers ran the ball six more times than they threw it, and their passes were usually short and safe. The Colts scored the fewest points in 23 regular-season home games since the team moved to Indianapolis.

Even the boo birds among the 47,950 fans in the Hoosier Dome (10,485 no-shows) were quiet. This was the smallest crowd for a regular-season game in the Dome.

“I was hearing Dan (Fouts) checking off,” Charger linebacker Billy Ray Smith said. “It was unbelievable. I’ve never been in a dome that quiet. You could hear a pin drop in the first half. . . .

Said Charger safety Jeff Dale: “You can say what you want to about it, but we have a win. It’s kind of dull, but we won it.”

The Chargers, however, suffered a big loss in the first quarter. Defensive end Leslie O’Neal tore ligaments in his left knee and will be lost for the season. He may face a year of rehabilitation.

Since Coach Al Saunders replaced Don Coryell and implemented an offense built around runs and flare passes, San Diego is 2-3. Overall, the Chargers are 3-11.

With their victory, the Chargers virtually eliminated themselves from any chance of picking first in the 1987 National Football League draft and thereby having a shot at selecting Vinny Testaverde, the star senior quarterback from the University of Miami.

Draft choices? The quest to select a successor to Fouts?

That’s heresy when said in the presence of Saunders.

“I thought it was a great game,” Saunders said. “Whether you win or lose is the bottom line.”

Sunday did not get off to a good start for the Chargers. One of the buses carrying some of the players broke down on the way from the hotel to the Hoosier Dome.

The Charger offense played keepaway for the first 10 minutes 34 seconds, which was the team’s longest drive of the season. The Chargers ran 11 times and passed seven times.

“Basically, we were trying to control the ball,” said Fouts, who returned to the lineup after missing the team’s last game against the Raiders Nov. 20 because of a sore shoulder.

Against the Colts, Fouts completed 24 of 31 passes for 290 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions.

“They (Colts) weren’t giving us anything down the field,” Fouts said, “and what we did basically worked pretty well for us.”

The 82-yard, 18-play drive, kept alive by an off-side penalty against the Colts on fourth and one from the Colt 11-yard line, stalled at the Colt two-yard line.

Rolf Benirschke kicked a 19-yard field goal to put the Chargers ahead for good.

On the Colts’ first series, Dale intercepted a pass by Jack Trudeau and zig-zagged through tacklers for a 40-yard return to the Colt 42-yard line.

“He (Trudeau) doesn’t try to look you off,” Dale said. “He was looking at him (wide receiver Bill Brooks) all the time.”

Fouts hit Trumaine Johnson for 12 yards and then hooked up with Wes Chandler on what Fouts called “one of those lucky bounces that we haven’t had many of this year.”

A pass that was forced into coverage deflected off Colt safety Dwight Hicks and Charger receiver Charlie Joiner and bounced right to Chandler, who was standing in the end zone and was the beneficiary of a 30-yard touchdown reception.

“That’s the kind you look for at the end of a game,” Chandler said. “They (Joiner and Hicks) went up for it. I just wanted to be in a position where I could get a tip.”

From that point on, the game belonged to a strong and opportunistic Charger defense and an inept Colt offense.

The Colts had season lows in first downs (11) and first downs passing (5) and tied their season low for total offense with 177 yards.

“We tightened up and didn’t seem to be able to flow,” said Colt Coach Rod Dowhower, whose job security is becoming more tenuous by the hour. “We’ve got to have a balanced offense, we are just not consistent.”

After Colt cornerback John Holt’s interception and 80-yard return (there was an illegal block called on the Colts) gave Indianapolis a first down at the Charger 21-yard line, the Colts were forced to settle for a 40-yard field attempt by Dean Biasucci. It was wide left.

Benirschke’s 43-yard field goal attempt was tipped and wide left. It was 10-0 at halftime and the Colts left the field to a chorus of boos.

The Colts’ best offensive drive of the game came on the opening possession of the second half. A 60-yard, 10-play drive culminated in a 27-yard field goal by Biasucci with 5:33 gone in the third quarter.

It was 10-3. Would the Chargers have the dubious distinction of losing to the winless Colts?

After the Colts scored, Charger linebacker coach Mike Haluchak said he gave the defense quite a talking to on the sideline.

“The intensity level wasn’t there,” Haluchak said, “and that was the thing we noticed. The longer you leave a team like that in the game, the more confident they get.”

When Colt defensive end Jon Hand intercepted a Fouts screen pass and returned the ball to the San Diego 28-yard line late in the third quarter, the crowd actually started making more noise than the cheerleaders.

However, on the Colts’ first play after the turnover, Lowe stripped the ball from fullback Randy McMillan and recovered the fumble at the San Diego 22-yard line.

“Our defense has become more opportunistic in the last several weeks,” Saunders said. “The defense had an exceptional performance.”

And the offense?

“We didn’t get the ball upfield as much as we would have liked,” Saunders said. “Their coverage was to credit for that.”

Benirschke had a 26-yard field goal attempt blocked by Colt cornerback Eugene Daniel in the fourth quarter, but the Chargers finally put the game out of reach on a one-yard run by fullback Curtis Adams with 1:45 to play. The touchdown was set up by a 36-yard reception over the middle by Chandler.

As The Old Scout column in the Indianapolis Star said in Sunday’s paper: “The good news for the Dolts’ followers is that there is only one home loss left after today’s.”