PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : San Diego Avoids Embarrassing Loss to Seattle With Late Charge

The San Diego Chargers know they’re not world-beaters yet. After all, it took a strong fourth quarter merely to save themselves from an embarrassing loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

“We had a lot of yards,” said wide receiver Tony Martin, who had a career-day with 13 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown in the 14-10 victory. “We just didn’t get a lot of points on the board.”

They got enough, though, thanks to Stan Humphries’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Harmon with 13:41 left and Natrone Means’ 115 yards in 26 carries.

“I felt like we got back to the way we’re capable of playing,” Humphries said. “But we have to get better to stay competitive.”

The Jack Murphy Stadium crowd of 54,420 occasionally booed the defending AFC champion Chargers (1-1), particularly when Humphries overthrew Harmon on a third-down pass to end San Diego’s first drive of the second half.

There was no mixup the next time Humphries went Harmon’s way. The quarterback double-pumped, Harmon got behind cornerback Corey Harris and gathered in the 15-yard pass as he crossed the goal line.

“Perfect timing, excellent throw,” San Diego Coach Bobby Ross said.

Humphries was five of five for 52 yards on the winning drive, which included a penalty against cornerback Carlton Gray for holding Shawn Jefferson two plays before the touchdown. It was the first touchdown in seven regular-season games for Harmon, who had a team-best 58 catches last year.

While the Chargers were going 11-5 last year and heading to their first Super Bowl, the Seahawks were going 6-10, their fourth consecutive losing season. They were eager to atone for an embarrassing 34-10 loss to Kansas City.

“They came out and established a drive to open the game,” Seahawk safety Eugene Robinson said. “We come back, though, and shut them down after that. I thought, overall, we did a pretty good job on defense.”

Means had gained 84 yards in 21 carries when he was hit by Cortez Kennedy with 5:52 left. He lay motionless for several minutes, then looked shaky as he came off the field. The drive ended when Martin fumbled on a hit by Duane Bickett, but safety Rodney Harrison got the ball back on his second interception of Rick Mirer.

Means, who sustained a lower back strain, came back and carried five times for 31 yards as the Chargers ran out the clock.

“I came back in to help us win,” Means said. “I don’t think the injury is that serious.”

Humphries finished 23 of 35 for 260 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Mirer was 13 of 29 for 127 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.