More Than Rivalry at Stake as Chargers Battle Raiders
Beyond the rivalry and the sellout crowd, today’s game against the Raiders could chart the Chargers’ destiny for the remainder of the season.
“It’s set,” Charger safety Martin Bayless said. “If you’re looking for a football game to be in, this is it. This team is ready for the challenge and we can’t let them out of this stadium alive.”
With a victory over the Raiders (5-1) today and seven division games left, the Chargers (2-4) would remain competitive for post-season play. With a defeat, they would be on pace to match the 6-10 record they have posted in each of the past two seasons.
“It’s obvious we’re at the crossroads,” defensive end Lee Williams said. “If we lose, I don’t know what implications the future would hold, but I think it would be very grim. This is a game we need to win.”
The Raiders, however, will not make it easy. Under Coach Art Shell, they have reverted to playing Al Davis football: Run it, throw it deep, rub their faces into the turf.
“They’ve pretty much handled everybody they’ve played so far,” Williams said. “Hey, if you’re gonna be successful, you have to beat the Raiders. If we’re going to fulfill the goals we had coming, we’ve got to beat the Raiders.”
The Raiders hold a 37-21-2 series edge on the Chargers. Since moving from Oakland to Los Angeles, the Raiders have 12 victories in the past 16 meetings. They left the Chargers embarrassed, 34-7, in this year’s final exhibition game at the Coliseum.
“They kicked the . . . out of us in the preseason,” Coach Dan Henning said. “There ought to be some carry-over, some feeling to want to right that situation and establish ourselves the way we think we are.”
Where better to do that than home in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium? The Raiders have not posted a touchdown here in first-, second- or third-quarter play since 1986, when Lester Hayes recovered a fumble and ran 39 yards for a touchdown.
In their past three games here, the Raiders have scored three touchdowns--each coming in the fourth quarter. They have found the end zone only once in their last eight quarters against the Chargers’ defense.
But the 1990 Raiders come to San Diego with an effective Jay Schroeder at quarterback, a healthy Marcus Allen at running back, and, for the first time this season, Bo Jackson.
“I’ve seen Bo for four years now,” linebacker Gary Plummer said, “and it’s nothing that’s real special anymore. Of course, he’s not just another pawn in the chess game; he might be a queen or a bishop. I mean, he does have unbelievable talent.”
In three previous games against the Chargers, Jackson has gained 212 yards in 45 carries for an average of 4.7 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown against the Chargers.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to see him a lot,” Plummer said. “Their running game is very simple. They are going to run the toss play with him, they’re going to run the lead play with him, and that’s about all they are going to ask him to do.
“They aren’t going to ask him to block. They aren’t going to ask him to get out and run too many pass routes. So you’re talking about three or four plays where you’re basically running on instinct. But because he can break it at any time, you have to get 11 helmets on him.”
Stopping the Raiders’ running attack is essential to the Chargers’ plans. They want to put Schroeder in a position where he will have to throw the ball, then they want to turn their pass rushers loose.
“We have to get in his face and put heat on Schroeder,” Bayless said. “We have to make him uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. If that means he doesn’t make it through the game, and that’s what we’ve got to do to win, then we’ve got to do it.”
Schroeder, who was traded to the Raiders from Washington in 1988 for former Chargers tackle Jim Lachey, has returned to the Pro Bowl form he showed in 1986 when he threw for 4,109 yards and 22 touchdowns. This year, he has completed 58% of his passes, throwing seven touchdowns with two interceptions.
“He’s played marvelously,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. “He’s played steadily, intelligently and hasn’t made mistakes. He’s had a tremendous amount of time to throw the ball, as evidenced by the fact he’s been sacked only 10 times.
“We’d like to change his tempo and disrupt the time he has back in the pocket. In my mind, this game keeps coming back to Schroeder and how well we cover his receivers and pressure him.
“When we’ve played well in the past against Schroeder it’s because we’ve been able to pressure him. We’ve been able to rattle him and make him make some bad throws.”
The Chargers’ offense, meanwhile, will have to contend with the NFL’s fifth-best defense. The Raiders have allowed only one rushing touchdown, and in the team’s five victories, they have limited the opposition to an average of 10 points a game.
“They’re good enough to be 5-1,” quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver said. “They’ve got a very experienced defense and they’re putting very good pressure on the passer with just four guys.
“But it’s not something you concern yourself with; if you’re scared, don’t show up.”
The Chargers will show up, and they expect the Raiders to arrive feeling pretty good about that final exhibition game.
“They’re gonna remember that,” Bayless said. “They’re gonna probably walk on the field and do what they want to do, but it will be a different story.”