THE NFL 1996 : Chargers Missing in Action

Dennis Erickson refused to believe he wasn’t going to face Junior Seau on the field until he saw him standing in his street clothes on the San Diego sideline.

“Then I believed them,” the Seattle coach said with a smile.

With San Diego missing its two star players, Seau and quarterback Stan Humphries, the Seahawks beat the mistake-prone Chargers for the first time in three seasons, 32-13, Sunday.

“Let’s face it,” Erickson said. “Junior wasn’t playing, and the guy’s pretty good.”

The Seahawks, who had only two interceptions and eight takeaways in the first seven games, had their way against a Seau-less defense, intercepted four passes from Sean Salisbury and recovered a fumble. The five turnovers resulted in 23 Seattle points.

The Seahawks (3-5) won for the first time in four home games and finally beat an AFC West opponent in their fifth try. The Chargers (4-4) lost their third in a row and for the second time in six days.

San Diego Coach Bobby Ross didn’t want to dwell on his defense, which he felt played reasonably well. Instead, he severely criticized his offense.

“I’ve been coaching football 30 some years and that was as embarrassing a performance as I’ve been around,” Ross said. “I hope the players are embarrassed. We’re beat up, but we can hang in if we can get a hang-in performance.”

Seattle ended a five-game losing streak against the Chargers, who had won nine of 10 from the Seahawks.

Seattle running back Chris Warren had his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, picking up 146 yards in 19 carries, including a 37-yard touchdown run.