Raiders Revisit Crossroad : AFC: Tonight’s game against Chargers is rematch of contest that was a turning point for the seasons of both teams.

It was the defining moment of the season for two teams headed in opposite directions.

The Raiders supposedly had a Super Bowl in their future. The San Diego Chargers supposedly had no future. Not in 1994. Not according to the experts.

The Chargers had won their first three games. But all of their opponents--the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks--were suspect.

The Raiders had lost two of their first three. But quarterback Jeff Hostetler had played as if he had a sore arm, incapable of throwing an effective spiral although he said he was not injured.

In the fourth week of the season, with Hostetler again appearing sound, the Raiders and Chargers met at the Coliseum.

With 7:01 to play, it appeared the Raiders had won that test as cornerback Lionel Washington stepped into the end zone to complete a 31-yard return after an interception to give the Raiders a 24-23 lead.

At the other end of the field, San Diego quarterback Stan Humphries lay writhing on the ground, clutching his left knee after getting hit on the play. A team doctor told Humphries he was finished for the day.

Not by a long shot.

Humphries limped back onto the field in the closing minutes and drove his club to victory, John Carney kicking a 33-yard field goal with two seconds to play for a 26-24 victory.

The Chargers went on to win their first six games and now sit atop the AFC West at 9-3. The Raiders, their defense repeatedly showing an alarming softness in the fourth quarter, have continued to struggle, splitting their first 12 games.

“I think it was crucial for us not to let something go we worked so hard that game for,” said Humphries in looking back at that September meeting. “It was good for this football team to see that there’s never any quit in us.”

Tonight comes another test, this one at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, where the Raiders and Chargers meet again.

The goals this time, however, are considerably different. San Diego is trying to clinch the division title. The Raiders are merely trying to stay alive. A loss would drastically dim their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.

To win, the Raiders are going to have to shut down the Charger offense. To most teams, that would mean bottling up running back Natrone Means. San Diego is third in the AFC in rushing, led by Means, who began the weekend leading the conference in rushing with 1,101 yards. That total puts him third in the league behind Detroit’s Barry Sanders and Dallas’ Emmitt Smith.

But Means is not the Raiders’ biggest worry. Run-stuffing is their specialty. With 300-pounders Chester McGlockton and Jerry Ball in the middle of their defensive line, the Raiders are fourth in the AFC in run defense.

No, their biggest concern might be Ronnie Harmon, who is described by Charger Coach Bobby Ross as “one of the better third-down backs in the NFL.”

He’ll get no argument from the Raiders, who sometimes don’t seem to have a clue how to stop Harmon. Time and again, he has slid out of the San Diego backfield to catch crucial passes.

It happened on the final drive of that September game, Harmon catching an eight-yard pass from Humphries on a fourth-down play to keep San Diego moving. Harmon caught a game-high six passes for 74 yards.

In his last five games against the Raiders over three seasons, Harmon has caught 20 passes for 295 yards. That averages out to four catches for 59 yards per game from a running back.

But then, Harmon doesn’t just pick on the Raiders. He is San Diego’s leading receiver with 42 catches for 435 yards and caught his first touchdown pass last week against the Rams.

The Raider offense must overcome a few problems if it is to be effective. Hostetler is expected to play, but he will be trying to shake off any lingering effects of a concussion that knocked him out of last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Raiders are trying to strike a balance in their passing game between getting the ball to leading receiver Tim Brown too much, which drew criticism from those who labeled their aerial attack too one-dimensional, and not getting the ball to Brown enough, which drew criticism from the receiver last week. After catching only three passes in a 21-3 loss, Brown blasted the game plan.

As if all this weren’t enough to worry about, there is also Junior Seau. The Chargers are now moving their star linebacker around more, giving him more opportunities to get into the opposing backfield. Seau, who was bothered by a pinched nerve in his neck last week, has 5 1/2 sacks, 1 1/2 short of his career high.