Pain Alters Samuels’ View of Win

The Chargers were a short field goal away from recording a startling 24-21 victory over the New Orleans Saints and Chris Samuels was on his back in the end zone with a broken leg and torn ligaments in his ankle.

His 29-yard catch had moved the ball to the Saints’ one-yard line, and John Carney already was on the field ready to kick the 19-yard game-winner.

A reporter asked Samuels after the game, “What were you thinking about when you were laying there? Hey, we’re going to win? Or, hey, I’m really hurt bad?”

Samuels said, “I wasn’t thinking about, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this game.’ I was just thinking why is this doctor squeezing my leg when I know it’s broken? He told me he had to assess what type of an injury it was before they carted me off.”

Samuels, who was hit low by former Chargers defender Vencie Glenn, will undergo surgery today.

“Thank God it was on grass; I’ve seen severe ankle injuries on turf,” he said. “And it wasn’t my knee. That’s how I look at it.”

Samuels was the 317th player selected in the draft, but the former Texas running back was one of the team’s best performers in the early going of training camp. Samuels was released on the final cut, resigned to the practice squad and added to the 47-man roster when Rod Bernstine went on injured reserve before the first meeting with Seattle.

“The Lord has a plan for me,” Samuels said, while leaning on crutches, his leg wrapped in a brace and plastic. “I’m not concerned; I’m very confident that I will be taken care of.”

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