Seau Steals Show in Charger Win

It was already one of the greatest games of Junior Seau’s brilliant career. He had intercepted two Steve Bono passes, recorded the biggest sack of the day and accounted for a dozen tackles.

But none of that might have mattered had not the San Diego Charger linebacker come up with one simple move in the closing seconds of Sunday’s game against the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, a move that clinched a 22-19 San Diego victory.

Seau pointed a finger at teammate Chris Mims.

That’s all. Just a motion with Seau’s finger, followed by a muttered bit of advice.

A wild, back-and-forth game, as uncontrolled as the delirious sellout crowd of 59,384 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, had come down to one last kick with 28 seconds to play.

With the Chargers clinging to their three-point lead, Kansas City’s Pete Stoyanovich was lining up for a 47-yard field-goal attempt, trying to equal the five field goals already kicked by San Diego’s John Carney.

For one of the few moments all afternoon, the crowd noise had simmered to a roar. After rooting all day for both the Chargers on the field and the San Diego Padres on the scoreboard, the crowd sucked in its collective breath as Stoyanovich lined up.

Seau, planning on testing Chief lineman Joe Phillips on the outside, indicated to Mims that he should step up and take the inside route between the center and the left guard.

Mims stepped up, jumped and got a piece of Stoyanovich’s kick, sending the ball bouncing harmlessly to the ground and Kansas City out of the ranks of the unbeaten. No piece of cake could be any sweeter on Sunday, Mims’ 26th birthday.

“It was the biggest block of my career,” he said.

The outcome left three teams--San Diego, Kansas City and the Denver Broncos--tied atop the AFC West at 4-1.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a game like that, in which the swings and the momentum of the game changed so rapidly and so quickly,” Charger Coach Bobby Ross said.

It’s not something he would have said at halftime, or even five minutes into the third quarter.

Up to that point, it had been a rather dull battle of field-goal kickers, Stoyanovich and Carney accounting for all the points in a 9-9 tie. Carney had connected from 33, 38 and 44 yards, Stoyanovich from 44, 26 and 25 yards.

Then things got crazy in a hurry.

Faced with fourth and 15 at its 37-yard line on the next possession, Kansas City lined up to punt.

Instead, punter Louie Aguiar faked the kick and took off down the open left side, racing 18 yards for a first down.

At least it would have been a first down had fullback Donnell Bennett not been called for holding San Diego’s Willie Clark.

Forced to trudge back and do it again, Aguiar kicked this time, the ball sailing 54 yards to Darrien Gordon, who took it at the San Diego 19. Heading up the right side, Gordon broke an attempted tackle by Greg Manusky, raced by a diving Bennett and made it all the way to the Kansas City end zone, an 81-yard return to boost the Chargers into a 16-9 lead.

If the Chiefs were shocked by the drastic turnaround in their fortune, the feeling didn’t last long.

On Kansas City’s first play from scrimmage after the Gordon touchdown, Bono connected with Marcus Allen on a short swing pass that the running back took 59 yards down the right side, finally stopped by a diving, touchdown-saving tackle by defensive back Kevin Ross, a tackle that left Allen three yards short of the end zone.

It was only one of several big catches by Allen, who had six receptions for 88 of Bono’s 280 passing yards.

“He’s still got some speed. I’ll say that,” said Ross of the 36-year-old Allen.

Bono tacked on the remaining three yards on the next play, finding tight end Reggie Johnson on a scoring pass to again tie the score.

Carney’s fourth field goal, a 39-yard kick early in the fourth quarter, put the Chargers back on top. Stoyanovich answered with his fourth, a 32-yard kick.

The margin of difference, a 33-yard Carney field goal, was set up by Seau’s second interception, the linebacker picking off a throw intended for Johnson at the Kansas City 27.

“If Junior Seau isn’t one of the best football players to ever play this game,” Ross said, “I don’t know who is.”

Who could argue about a guy who could win a game by merely lifting a finger?