Defense Gets Point on Goal-Line Stand

Nobody was open. John Elway rolled to his right. This can be a nightmare for the men who make a living rushing quarterbacks.

Elway on the run.

Look out.

It was late in the third quarter Sunday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. A few minutes earlier, cornerback Kevin Clark had romped 75 yards on a kickoff return to put the Denver Broncos 24 yards from the lead.

Third and seven from the 10. The Broncos were down by five. As Elway neared the sideline, Charger defensive end Burt Grossman closed in. Last chance. Elway threw a pass across the field in the direction of receiver Michael Young. Grossman smashed him into the ground.

In the end zone was cornerback Gill Byrd. Later he would say that he knew he could get there and intercept this pass. But he had two fears. Would a Bronco step across and grab it before him? Or might he drop it?

No. And no.

Byrd hung on for his second interception of the game. And the Chargers hung on, too. Grossman, Byrd and the rest of the defense sent Elway to the sideline without even the consolation of a field goal. On the ensuing possession, the Chargers went 80 yards for a touchdown to sprinkle a little insurance on what was soon to become a 19-7 victory.

This is called finishing the job. Remember how many times last season this same defense played well for three quarters and a handful of minutes? Then there was the big drive. Then the loss.

Not this time. Elway and the Broncos, who have made three Super Bowl appearances in four years, were sent home with a 3-6 record. And when Billy Joe Tolliver knelt on the turf to erase the final ticks of the clock, nothing looked bigger than that third-quarter defensive stand that left Elway shaking his head and doing a lot of explaining in locker room.

“It was a dumb play,” Elway said. “I was trying to make something happen. Going onto the field I said, ‘We’ve got to get it in the end zone.’ I made a stupid play trying to get it there.”

Even a guy with Elway’s exceptional arm has to think twice about throwing that type of pass with Byrd roaming nearby. Byrd is the Chargers’ all-time interception leader with 32. So this was like letting the cat baby-sit the fish.

“To roll right and throw left is a dangerous, dangerous thing,” Charger Coach Dan Henning said. “(Elway) has made a lot of plays like that and probably gotten away with some, but I think he would like to have that one back.”

It doesn’t work that way, however. There are professions in which you can change you mind a minute, an hour, a day later and still be OK. Professional football is not one of them, however. You choose, and soon you know it was either a very good choice or a very bad one.

This was bad and good. Bad for Elway. Good for the Chargers (5-5).

Byrd had his own decision to make on this play. With the ball firmly in hand, he thought he might take a shot at the 100-yard dash toward the other end zone. Then the voice of his coach ran through his head.

You see, there was a similar situation in practice Friday. Cornerback Donald Frank intercepted a pass and knelt in the end zone. Byrd came over and told him he should have run with the ball. Henning corrected him.

“So when I intercepted, I thought about taking it out,” Byrd said. “And then I heard the voice from Friday: ‘No, don’t do it.’ So I said, ‘OK, let’s just sit down.’ ”

This is a play that undoubtedly will be lost in the shuffle of more spectacular Charger highlights. It wasn’t Gary Anderson hurdling high over two defenders and landing in the end zone. It was a zone matchup defense that defensive coordinator Ron Lynn says is a little too complex to explain.

No matter, it worked.

“That’s what the heck you get paid for,” Lynn said. “That’s the greatest position to be put in. You can look at it as half-full or half-empty. On one hand, you say ‘Oh my God, they’ve only got (24) yards to go.’ On the other hand, if you go in and you defend it and don’t give up any points everybody says, ‘That’s great defense.’ ”