Chargers Misfire From Start to Finish

The Chargers started a rookie quarterback named Billy Joe Tolliver Sunday. They lost to the Jets, 20-17, because he was Billy Joe Terrible.

“I can’t see any good points in my performance today,” Tolliver said after completing 24 of 51 passes for 230 yards, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times.

It wasn’t all his fault. Chris Bahr could have sent the game into overtime but pushed a 37-yard field goal attempt wide right with 10 seconds remaining.

And Tolliver’s offensive teammates, an odd assortment of injury-plagued free agents and Plan B types were Just Barely Tolerable.

“We didn’t have a great deal of help around Billy Joe,” Charger Coach Dan Henning said.

All of which was Pretty Much Horrible for a Charger defense that has now held 11 consecutive opponents to fewer than 21 points. The Chargers have won only four of those games.

The defense sacked Jet quarterbacks five times, including two by Pro Bowl defensive end Lee Williams. Williams took over the team and AFC lead in sacks from Leslie O’Neal. Williams now has 12.

But the loss was the Chargers’ third in a row, dropped them to 4-9 and (in case anybody was still wondering) mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs. The Jets, also 4-9, have won two in a row.

Much of Tolliver’s trouble stemmed from inexperience. This was only his second NFL start. But he also had problems throwing passes that required touch.

On more than one occasion, many of the 38,954 in attendance--the Chargers’ smallest crowd of the year--booed lustily. “I’ve been booed before,” Tolliver said. “Those people paid their money.”

The Jets, ranked last in NFL defense after 12 weeks, were smart enough to try to confuse Tolliver. And they succeeded.

“They were in some defenses in the first half and early in the second where I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Tolliver said.

“You could tell he hadn’t been in game situations,” New York cornerback Bobby Humphrey said. “You could could play with his mind a little bit.”

So, yes, the Charger quarterback, at times, was Billy Joe Gullible.

Several Jet defenders said they kept waiting for Henning to insert veteran Jim McMahon, but Henning said he never came close to making such a move. He also said Tolliver will “probably” remain his starter next week in Washington.

Both Tolliver interceptions cost the Chargers dearly. The first occurred late in the first period after Ken O’Brien’s underhand pitch to running back Johnny Hector on third-and-seven resulted in a nine-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 New York lead.

Hector’s score was highlighted by a textbook block on Elvis Patterson by Jet right tackle Reggie McElroy and completed a 47-yard, seven-play drive set up by JoJo Townsell’s 30-yard punt return.

Charger Jamie Holland responded with a 34-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. Pass interference on Humphrey moved the Chargers to the New York 20. But two plays later, Tolliver threw into double coverage, and cornerback James Hasty intercepted.

Undaunted, the Chargers tied the score with five minutes remaining in the half on a 40-yard magical mystery tour up the middle by rookie running back Marion Butts, who broke at least five tackles on the play. “As good a run as I’ve seen this year,” Henning said.

“I could smell the end zone,” said Butts, who scored seven touchdowns in the first six weeks but none in the next five. “It had been a long time.”

The Chargers took the lead late in the third period on a 39-yarder by Bahr, set up by Lester Lyles’ interception of a Pat Ryan pass. Ryan had replaced O’Brien, who jammed his shoulder in the second quarter.

Lyles’ interception was one of three by the Charger defense, which also recovered a fumble.

The Jets regained the lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Roger Vick. And they stretched that margin to 20-10 on a 14-yard rumble by Vick. Pat Leahy missed the extra point.

Vick’s 76 yards on 16 carries complemented Hector’s game-high 106 yards rushing on 20 tries. The Jets, ranked 22nd in rushing coming in, totaled 181 yards, the most allowed by the Chargers this year.

Vick’s second touchdown came after Erik McMillan intercepted an ill-advised Tolliver bomb and returned it 40 yards to the Charger 16.

“One of the stupidest plays of the year,” Tolliver said. “That’s a play any high school kid knows not to do. It’s a team sport. But when you get down to the final analysis, that interception I threw cost us the game.”

But thanks to Leahy’s miss, the Chargers weren’t dead yet. After O’Neal recovered a Vick fumble at the Jet 49, Tolliver hurried them upfield. His eight-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller cut the deficit to 20-17 with 3:25 to play.

Miller has scored six touchdowns in the past five games and a team-high nine this year. He finished Sunday with seven receptions for 70 yards.

After a Jet punt, the Chargers took over on their 44. Six plays later, Bahr pushed what would have been the game-tying field goal. He was six of eight from between the 30 and 39 before the miss.

“The snap was fine, the hold was fine, Chris told me he just got a little behind it,” holder David Archer said. “It’s like a golf shot that you hit a little fat and leave it out to the right.”

Leahy, watching from the sidelines, figured Bahr was a cinch to make it because Leahy’s missed extra point had left the door open. “And I’m sitting there thinking ‘it’s all because of you, you jerk,’ ” he said. “I was sitting there thinking what he (Bahr) must be thinking now.”

Or as Billy Joe Tolliver, who hails from Boyd, Tex. and talks as if he just walked out of a Dan Jenkins novel, put it: “It just looked like today we were snakebit and born to lose.”

Charger Notes

Charger Coach Dan Henning said he had no problem with the “in-the-grasp” ruling late in the third period that negated what would have been a Lee Williams touchdown return of an interception. “I heard the whistle,” Henning said. “It was a correct call.” The whistle signified that Les Miller had sacked Jet quarterback Pat Ryan for an 11-yard loss before Williams got his hands on the ball. . . . Williams’ 55 1/2 career sacks are second in Charger history to Gary (Big Hands) Johnson who 67. . . . The last time Jet kicker Pat Leahy missed an extra point was in Week 14 of 1985 against the Bills. . . . Believe it or not, the Chargers have scored 25 touchdowns this year, their opponents 24. . . . The Chargers were a miserable four of 19 (21%) on third-down conversions. . . . Asked to assess rookie quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver’s performance, wide receiver Anthony Miller said, “I really don’t have any comment on that. I’m not a person to judge. I’ve got to worry about my job.” Charger wide receiver Wayne Walker, when asked the same question: “I’m not one to assess anybody.” Henning on the same question: “Roller coaster-like. Billy Joe played poorly in the first half and got better at the end.” Said running back Marion Butts: “I think Billy Joe did a good job with the exception of the interceptions. Lack of playing time will hurt anybody.”