Chargers Lose Lead and Game to Bengals : AFC: Esiason’s three touchdown passes help Cincinnati come back from a 13-0 deficit and win, 21-16.
The San Diego Chargers lost another close one Sunday, falling, 21-16, to the Cincinnati Bengals before 48,098 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
The Chargers’ last 14 games have been decided by seven or fewer points, with 10 ending in defeat.
“It’s like reaching for that stick so you don’t fall off the cliff, and then someone moves the stick away from you,” Charger safety Vencie Glenn said.
The Chargers squandered a 14-10 fourth-quarter lead a week ago to lose to Dallas, 17-10, and then Sunday had a 16-14 edge go by the wayside down the stretch.
The Bengals (2-0), known not so long ago in their own right as a bungling fourth-quarter outfit, got three touchdown passes from Boomer Esiason, with the third completing the come-from-behind victory.
A 10-yard scoring pass to James Brooks early in the second quarter cut a 13-0 San Diego lead to 13-7, and a 30-yard scoring pass to Eddie Brown just before haltime made it 16-14.
Then a questionable touchdown pass to Brown from 23 yards out less than three minutes into the fourth quarter gave the Bengals the victory.
“It was one of those games where we were going to find out if we could win,” Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche said. “It was a game of big plays, and Eddie Brown is a name that jumps out at you when you think of big plays.”
Brown caught 10 passes for 178 yards, including his disputed 23-yard touchdown reception on third down and 20 with 12:08 to play. Brown maneuvered his way behind cornerback Donald Frank and appeared to push off the rookie just before falling back to make the winning catch.
“They called interference on us,” Coach Dan Henning said. “Some of our players came off saying it was the other way around, but that’s the way it goes.”
The Bengals’ first score was to a wide open Brooks, the former Charger running back, who was supposed to be covered by Byrd. Byrd was also on the coverage when Brown hauled in Esiason’s 30-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter.
“I was playing soft out there, I was just flopping around the field like I was in another world,” said Byrd, who had an interception--his career 26th--to move into second place on the team’s all-time list. “I should have made that play on the ball to Brown; it cost us.”
The Chargers’ popgun offense, which has scored more than 30 points but once in its last 43 games, jumped out to a 13-0 first-quarter lead.
Billy Joe Tolliver, who was starting in place of Mark Vlasic, hit Plan B acquisition Ronnie Harmon for a 36-yard touchdown pass play on the team’s first offensive series. After an Esiason pass was intercepted, the first of three, Tolliver went 17 yards to fourth-year H-back Joe Caravello for Caravello’s first NFL touchdown.
On the extra-point try, however, defensive lineman George Hinkle was penalized for illegal use of the hands. After being pushed back 15 yards, Fuad Reveiz’s try for the extra point was blocked by James Francis.