Chargers Surprise the Jets, 39-3 : AFC: The margin of victory is San Diego’s biggest in 10 years.

In a game full of surprises, the San Diego Chargers routed the New York Jets, 39-3, Sunday, recording their biggest victory in 10 years.

The Jets (2-4) were five-point favorites and playing before 63,311 fans in Giants Stadium. They had the No. 1 offense in the AFC and were playing a lifeless team that had been embarrassed by Pittsburgh, 36-14, a week earlier.

So nothing really figured. But here’s what happened:

--The Chargers (2-4) recorded their largest margin of victory since beating the Giants, 44-7, on Oct. 19, 1980.

--They scored the most points since defeating Kansas City, 42-21, on Oct. 25, 1987.

--Running back Ronnie Harmon had not touched the ball in the previous two games, but he had it eight times against the Jets and on five occasions picked up a first down.

--After allowing Houston and Pittsburgh to be successful on 19 of 28 third-down conversions, they limited the Jets to one for 10.

--The Chargers never were forced to punt.

“I think there’s relief for me, and I imagine there’s relief for the players,” Coach Dan Henning said. “We did some soul-searching this week and discussed it with the players, and we determined there wasn’t to be a great deal of change.

“If you believe in what you’re doing, and you study it, and you feel like what you’re doing is right, then you have to go out and prove it’s right. That’s what we intended to do.”

The Chargers compiled a season-high 22 first downs, gaining 412 yards, and limited the Jets’ high-powered attack to 148.

“I would say that’s as good as we have played all year,” Henning said.

On defense, defensive end Burt Grossman sacked quarterback Ken O’Brien for the Chargers’ first safety since 1987. On offense, running back Marion Butts ripped off 121 yards in 26 carries, including touchdown runs of five and six yards. On special teams, the Chargers destroyed the Jets’ punting game.

“The players were determined to play a game as a team, and they did that,” Henning said. “We were a determined team today because of what has happened to us the last couple of weeks.”

The Chargers were left short at the goal line on their first possession after failing on four downs to bully their way into the end zone.

The Jets took possession at their own one, and on third and four from the seven, the Charger pass rush fell on top of O’Brien for a safety.

On the ensuing free kick, Charger running back Darrin Nelson slipped, and Jet cornerback Michael Mayes recovered the ball at the San Diego 14.

Along the sideline, the Charger defense began slapping each other on the back as if disaster was just what they wanted. “Gill Byrd and those guys were high-fiving each other before they went onto the field,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said.

“You never want something bad to happen, but that’s the situation we wanted. We talked about that, that’s something in past years we’ve been able to do. Not to just survive, but come out of bad situations without giving up points. We’re disappointed they got the field goal.”

The Jets settled for one by Pat Leahy from 22 yards, and the rout was on.

“We talked about it,” Byrd said. “As a defense, we took the field like we were there to stop people. It was an attitude.”

On the third play of the second quarter, quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver found coverage he liked on wide receiver Anthony Miller and dropped a 29-yard touchdown pass into Miller’s hands for a 9-3 lead. It was Miller’s fourth touchdown catch of the season.

“We were going to throw a screen to Butts or a post to Miller, but they had him pressed at the line in man-to-man coverage,” said Tolliver, who completed 12 of 18 for 169 yards without an interception. “We needed a win, that’s for sure. And I needed a game like this. I felt like I played a smart game, and I didn’t do anything stupid for a change.”