Charger Hound the Buccaneers into Submission : Pro football: Chargers (6-5) register six sacks in 29-14 victory over Tampa Bay.

After a dog-day afternoon at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Tampa Bay returned to its kennel with a 29-14 defeat while the Chargers talked playoffs and awaited the Raiders’ arrival.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Charger linebacker Gary Plummer. “The Raiders won big (over Denver), they’re 5-6 and a game behind us, and this game has tremendous playoff implications for both teams.

“I’m happy for the fans of San Diego because they finally have something to cheer about. The Raiders have come in here on numerous occasions with playoff hopes, and we haven’t basically had anything to play for except the pride of the Charger-Raider rivalry. This one goes a long way beyond that.”

If the playoffs began today, the Chargers (6-5) would not earn an invitation. Houston (6-5) would edge San Diego on the tiebreaking strength of its 27-0 victory over the Chargers earlier this season.

The Chargers have five more games to play, however, and although Tampa Bay Coach Sam Wyche took exception earlier to a San Diego reporter’s suggestion that the Chargers were playing a “Mutts-R-Us” schedule, he said, “Given their schedule, I think they will do well.”

The combined record of the Chargers’ remaining opponents is 13-31. The Chargers, one game out of first place in the AFC West, have won six of seven and have topped the .500 mark this late in the season for the first time since 1987.

“This winning stuff feels real good,” said Charger cornerback Gill Byrd.

If the Buccaneers had designs on knocking the Chargers off track, they went awry early. The Chargers pounced on top of the Buccaneers 12-0 in the first quarter and took a 22-7 lead at the half.

“We had talked before the game about the possibility of them being fired up by what was being said in the newspapers,” Plummer said, “so we wanted to take the fight out of them early.

“There are a lot of guys in this locker room that know what it feels like going into a place as an underdog. On many occasions people didn’t give us a chance, but if we started playing well, even in our periods when we went 6-10, we gave some people a scare. I think a lot of guys in here realized Tampa Bay could be that type of team if we gave them the chance.”

Ronnie Harmon, the Chargers’ most valuable performer in 1991, opened the scoring with his first touchdown of the season on a three-yard pass from Stan Humphries.

The Chargers’ special teams pinned the Buccaneers at their own eight-yard line after John Carney’s kickoff, and three downs later Chris Mims was sitting on top of Tampa Bay quarterback Vinny Testaverde in the end zone for a safety.

The Chargers went on to sack Testaverde six times, including three by Mims, a rookie.

“I can’t say enough about the great job the defensive line has done all year,” Byrd said. “It’s like Indianapolis’ Jeff George said earlier: ‘They don’t need any defensive backs with a front seven like they have.’ ”

After the safety, Nate Lewis returned the Buccaneers’ free kick 62 yards to the Tampa Bay 18-yard line, and the rout was on. Carney kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 12-0 lead.

“That was a huge play to come back and get that field position after the safety,” Plummer said. “After that they seemed to be working from a disadvantageous position the rest of the day.”

The Buccaneers struck back with a Testaverde 10-yard touchdown pass to an uncovered tight end Ron Hall in the second quarter, but then the Chargers replied with 10 unanswered points to close out the half.

“The touchdown at the end of the first half,” Wyche said, “made the difference in the game.”

After Carney had connected from 31 yards for a 15-7 lead, the Chargers dropped Testaverde for a two-yard loss on third and one and forced the Buccaneers to punt with 1:25 left in the second quarter.

The Chargers took possession at their 39, and Humphries then took his team to the Buccaneers’ six-yard line with 18 seconds to play. On third and one, the Buccaneers prepared for a pass, but Humphries handed off to Harmon. Touchdown.

“I’m just glad Ronnie is on our side,” tackle Broderick Thompson said. “For him to get two touchdowns today is just a payoff for all the hard work he does. He comes in early on Mondays, runs stairs on his day off, and doesn’t like the limelight. All he wants to do is go out and perform well on Sunday.”

Harmon’s dance into the end zone gave the Chargers a 22-7 lead despite a poor passing performance by Humphries. Humphries was 7 for 18 in the first half and finished 13 of 28 for 126 yards.

“It was not a particularly pretty football game,” Charger Coach Bobby Ross said. “Offensively, we were off in our throwing game. Stan was not as sharp as he has been.

“It is nice to be able to go to the ground when that happens and be able to pound it away.”

Marion Butts gained 104 yards on 22 carries, the second time in the last four games that he has gone over the 100-yard mark. He also passed Chuck Muncie on the Chargers’ all-time rushing list with 3,312 yards. He now trails only Paul Lowe (4,963).

Butts’ fumble in the fourth quarter, however, gave Tampa Bay an opportunity to rally. The Buccaneers trailed the Chargers 22-14 after Testaverde’s one-yard touchdown run, and Butts’ fumble gave Tampa Bay the ball at its 19-yard line with 6:02 to play.

But the Chargers’ defense snuffed out a comeback. The Buccaneers made it as far as the 36 before running out of downs.

Then the Chargers struck again. Humphries, who had scrambled 25 yards earlier for the longest run by a Charger quarterback since Mark Malone went 36 yards for a touchdown against San Francisco on Nov. 27, 1988, ran four yards for the touchdown on a naked bootleg with 1:12 to play.

“He ran like frozen molasses,” Thompson said. “In the huddle we were told that he was going to hand the ball to Butts, so we stuck with our blocks and sold it well. I didn’t know he still had the ball until I looked up and saw him going into the end zone. He tricked us as well as he tricked them.”

The Buccaneers have lost 19 games in a row on the road to AFC opponents, and have not won a game in California since 1980 (at San Francisco). They are 0-5 against the Chargers.

“They were quick mutts,” said Charger defensive end Burt Grossman. “That no-huddle of theirs was unbelievable. I think we were all worn out when this one was over.”

They will be ready for next week’s game, however.

“That one word,” linebacker Junior Seau said. “Raiders.

“That says it all. It’s going to be a great game, and I can’t wait.”