San Diego Lets Game Slip Away to Seattle, 13-10 : AFC: San Diego’s Arthur Cox has two costly fumbles, one late in regulation and the other in overtime.

A couple of sure-handed catches proved costly for San Diego Charger tight end Arthur Cox.

He fumbled twice after making receptions, the first killing a potential game-winning drive with 48 seconds remaining in regulation and the second setting up Norm Johnson’s 40-yard field goal 3:01 into overtime that gave the Seattle Seahawks a 13-10 victory Sunday night.

Cox, who caught a scoring pass for the Chargers’ only touchdown, could only agonize about the catches that got away. He declined comment after the game.

“He doesn’t want to talk, guys. Let’s leave him alone,” Charger cornerback Gill Byrd told reporters clustered around Cox’s locker.

“One guy does not win or lose a game,” Byrd said. “What we’ve got to do is get ourselves together and learn from this, remember that feeling we have in our gut now and say, ‘We don’t want this to happen again.’ We’ve got to fight and persevere so it doesn’t happen again.”

Seattle (5-6) and San Diego (5-7) together had seven turnovers, five by the Chargers--including three in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“Our defense created turnovers with hard hits,” said Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg, who fumbled five times but lost only one. “I feel bad for Arthur Cox. Those things have happened to me. It’s part of the game.”

The Chargers won the coin toss to get the ball first in overtime.

Cox caught Billy Joe Tolliver’s third-down pass and was lunging for a first down when he was tackled by cornerback James Jefferson. The ball came loose at the Charger 23, where linebacker Rufus Porter recovered.

The Seahawks ran two plays, netting one yard, before Johnson came on to kick the field goal.

“We were within his range,” Seattle Coach Chuck Knox said. “Obviously, if he didn’t make it, everybody would have said, ‘You should have gotten a little closer.’ Listen, you have to go with your gut feeling but I’m glad he made it.”

Said Johnson: “I almost expected to go out on first down, but we didn’t. Everything turned out real well.”

San Diego was at the Seahawk 32 with 48 seconds remaining in regulation when Tolliver completed a pass to Cox, who fumbled when tackled by Patrick Hunter.

Jacob Green recovered for Seattle at the 15 and the Seahawks ran out the clock to force overtime.

Derrick Fenner’s one-yard touchdown run with 4:17 left in regulation tied the score 10-10. The drive began after Seattle’s second interception of Tolliver.

Safety Eugene Robinson stepped in front of Nate Lewis to make the interception and his 30-yard return gave Seattle possession at the Charger 40.

Seattle took 10 plays to score, converting on third down as Fenner dove over for the touchdown.

The Seahawks trailed by seven points when they moved to the Charger 26 as John L. Williams turned a short pass over the middle into a 60-yard gain. But Krieg fumbled for the fifth time on the next play when tackled by defensive end Lee Williams, and nose tackle Les Miller recovered at the 25.

It was the first time San Diego gained possession from a miscue by Krieg, who had six fumbles in a game last season.

Cox’s leaping grab of Tolliver’s eight-yard scoring pass gave San Diego a 10-3 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third period. Marion Butts, who had 128 yards, gained 39 yards on five carries in the 82-yard drive, including a 19-yard run to the Seattle 12.

On third down, Cox made his first touchdown reception of the season.

An exchange of fumbles during a punt return allowed Seattle to pull into a 3-3 tie at halftime on Johnson’s 26-yard field goal with five seconds left in the second quarter.

Seattle punt returner Chris Warren fumbled near midfield and punter John Kidd scooped up the ball. But Kidd lost control of the ball and Seattle’s Robert Blackmon recovered at the Charger 47.

Krieg completed three consecutive passes, moving the Seahawks to the eight. Two plays later, his pass into the end zone was nearly intercepted by cornerback Donald Frank, and the Seahawks settled for a field goal.

The Chargers, limited to one first down in their first three possessions, controlled the ball for nine minutes during a second-quarter drive leading to a 20-yard field goal by John Carney.