Chiefs Get Handle on Chargers, 16-14 : AFC: Lowery kicks 300th field goal with 54 seconds left, ending San Diego’s four-game win streak.
Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs always seems to have good games when military jets fly over Arrowhead Stadium in pregame ceremonies.
Thomas set the NFL single-game record with seven sacks in 1990 and credited the flyover for inspiring him.
On Sunday, Thomas sacked San Diego quarterback Stan Humphries four times, twice causing turnovers that led directly to points as the Chiefs beat the Chargers, 16-14.
“It’s because of my father and all of the veterans around the country,” said Thomas, whose father, an Air Force pilot, was killed in Vietnam. “It gives me an added incentive to play, no matter who the opponent is.”
Nick Lowery’s 36-yard field goal with 54 seconds left gave the Chiefs (5-4) the victory, ending the Chargers’ four-game winning streak.
Humphries engineered touchdown drives of 80 and 90 yards, and the Chargers (4-5) took a 14-13 lead on Marion Butts’ one-yard touchdown run with 13:12 left.
But later in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs forced a Charger punt. The Chiefs took over at their own 33, and Dave Krieg completed three consecutive passes to put the ball on the Chargers’ 25. Three plays later, Lowery became the sixth kicker in NFL history to make 300 field goals.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Lowery, who also made field goals of 47 and 35 yards after missing the last two weeks because of a groin injury. “One extra day of rest worked out perfect. I had confidence, and didn’t have any second thoughts. As the game went on, I started feeling I was 100%.
“The timing was perfect, just perfect. If the game had been (Saturday), well, I don’t know. It would have been close.”
Humphries, bedeviled by Thomas, passed for only 35 net yards in the first half, but finished with 238. He completed passes for plays of 40 and 24 yards during the go-ahead drive.
Albert Lewis, the Chiefs’ Pro Bowl cornerback, suffered a broken left forearm late in the first half, and backup tight end Mike Dyal suffered a broken right forearm.
The Chargers were weakened at running back by the end of the game because of injuries suffered by Butts, Eric Bieniemy and Rod Bernstine.
“It diminished some of the things that we could do in the area of ball control,” Charger Coach Bobby Ross said of the injuries. “We didn’t play as well as we could, but we played hard and showed a lot of character coming back from being down, 13-0.”
