Seahawks Keep Slim Playoff Chances Alive, Defeat Chargers, 34-24
The Seattle Seahawks still have an outside chance to reach the playoffs, thanks in part to some confusion in the San Diego secondary.
The Seahawks (9-6) won their fourth straight game, defeating the Chargers, 34-24, Sunday in front of a San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium crowd of 47,096.
There were times when it appeared that the Charger defensive backs couldn’t get their signals straight. They might as well have been trying to figure out the combination of events that would put their opponents in the playoffs.
“The Chargers are hurting in the secondary with injuries, and we were able to take advantage,” said Seattle receiver Steve Largent, who caught 6 passes for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns.
San Diego defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said he suffered flashbacks to the secondary’s play in the early season after watching Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg capitalize on repeated instances of blown assignments.
“We beat ourselves defensively,” Lynn said. “We had foul-ups and didn’t make the right adjustments. I had hoped we were past all that.”
Typical was a 72-yard touchdown pass play to Daryl Turner, who burned cornerback Ken Taylor. He scored four times in a game a year ago, so there has been some improvement.
“You could look at it and hope for a poltergeist and just hope the ball would fall to the ground,” Lynn said.
Not many Krieg passes fell to the ground.
He hit 15 of 21, including 10 for 10 in the second half, good for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“I think he’s throwing as well right now as he ever has,” Largent said.
“He was playing out of his living mind,” said Charger tight end Kellen Winslow, who had 8 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Curt Warner took some of the pressure off the passing game by rushing 28 times for 93 yards.
“If they get in the playoffs, I am sure they will go a long way,” San Diego Coach Al Saunders said. “They controlled the ball in the third quarter for 13 minutes and did a great job of converting third downs. They played the way you have to in order to win.”
The Chargers, who had won two straight games and three out of five, regarded the Seahawks as the league’s hottest team, and they were not disappointed.
But the Seahawks did not allow their recent success to affect their play Sunday.
“My left eye was on the scoreboard all day,” safety Paul Moyer said. “Everyone else in the league seemed to be doing what we wanted them to do. And we knew we just had to win. Now we can look forward to our game against Denver next Saturday.”
The Seahawks’ must beat Denver to have any shot at the playoffs.
If Cincinnati and Kansas City lose next Sunday, the Seahawks will be a wild-card team. If New England loses and either Kansas City or Cincinnati loses, the Seahawks will be a wild card.
To keep his team alive, Krieg threw two, fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
A 14-yard catch by Ray Butler with 2:23 remaining secured the victory.
“It was a corner route out of an inside position,” Butler said. “I was man-to-man and I gave him a move inside. When he went outside, I got wide open and Dave threw a perfect pass.”
The Seahawks took a 27-17 lead on a 23-yard catch by Largent.
In the course of a 96-yard drive, Largent made 3 catches for 65 yards.
He became the third player in National Football League history to surpass 11,000 yards in career receiving.
“He made some spectacular catches,” said San Diego safety Vencie Glenn, one of three defensive backs whose practice time had been limited by injuries, perhaps contributing to some of the confusion.
“Anytime the ball is in the air and he touches it, he’ll catch it. He’s just a heckuva great receiver.”
Charger quarterback Dan Fouts (21 of 38, 237 yards) moved into second place in NFL history with 40,287 career yards. He trails only Fran Tarkenton with 47,003 yards.
He also became the second most prolific passer in attempts. With 5,212 attempts, he trails Tarkenton (6,467).
Fouts completed five passes for 51 yards in a 72-yard drive as the Chargers closed within 27-24 on a one-yard plunge by Tim Spencer with 6:56 remaining.
This may have been the final home game for San Diego’s 18-year veteran receiver, Charlie Joiner, who didn’t play because of injuries. His streak of 192 consecutive games played, dating to the 11th week of the 1973 season, was ended by a broken nose and broken hand.
Joiner has not decided whether to play in 1987 and the club has not indicated how he may fit into its plans.
As long as he’s been around, Joiner probably hadn’t seen anything to match a situation that developed in the third quarter. The Seahawks overcame a bizarre second and 53 on the first series of the second half.
Two holding calls and a personal foul hit the Seahawks after they drove to the San Diego nine.
The penalties left Seattle facing first and 44 from the San Diego 44. Then a sack by Lee Williams put the Seahawks into the second-and-53 position.
They got out of it on a 21-yard pass to Butler, coupled with a personal foul on Williams for an automatic first down.
The Seahawks went on to score and take a 20-17 lead on a 25-yard field goal by Norm Johnson.
“When they did that, it set the tone for the whole second half,” Winslow said.
Earlier, a six-yard catch by Largent and a 29-yard field goal by Johnson gave Seattle a 10-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Turner scored the longest touchdown pass play of the season against the Chargers.
That gave the Seahawks a 17-7 lead.
The Chargers, whose first score came on a short run by Spencer, got a little closer with a 23-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke after a lengthy second-period drive.
They went 76 yards in 16 plays, consuming 8:57, a textbook example of Saunders’ ball-control offense that has replaced the fireworks of Air Coryell.
They tied the score just before the half with a vintage Charger rendition of the two-minute drill. A 14-yard scoring pass to Winslow made it 17-17.
“We played good football today,” Winslow said. “We are playing with enthusiasm and optimism and we are coming into our own.”
But not in time to have any hope of reaching the playoffs, which they haven’t done since 1982.