NFL Recap (Kansas City-San Diego)
Posted: Sun November 22, 1998 at 9:46 p.m. EST
SAN DIEGO 38, KANSAS CITY 37
SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Craig Whelihan's one-yard
touchdown pass to Charlie
Jones with nine seconds remaining and John Carney's ensuing extra
point lifted the San
Diego Chargers to a thrilling come-from-behind 38-37 victory over the
Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs (4-7), who suffered a demoralizing 30-7 loss against Denver
last Monday night, blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead for their sixth
straight loss. The skid is Kansas City's longest since 1987, when it lost
nine in a row under Frank Gansz.
"I don't think that there's any question that losing leads to losing
like winning leads to winning," Kansas City coach Marty Schottenheimer
said. "Some of the things that have gone our way in the past have not this
year. We need to go make plays when the time comes. We had opportunities
and we didn't make them."
The Chargers (5-6) had lost three straight to the Chiefs by a combined
83-17, but climbed over the Chiefs and out of the AFC West cellar with
today's win.
"Well, it was as exciting as you can get," said San Diego coach June
Jones. "Those guys fought, nobody quit and everybody just hung in. I
couldn't be more happy for Craig. To take the team down the field in a
couple of two-minute drives and to put it in, that's what it's all about."
Facing a 2nd-and-10 at midfield with just 44 seconds remaining,
Whelihan lofted a pass down the left sideline to rookie Mikhael Ricks and safety
James Hasty was called
for interference to put the ball at the 13.
Whelihan fired three straight incompletions before Hasty again
interfered with Ricks, this time in the end zone, giving the Chargers a
first down at the 1 with 20 seconds left.
Whelihan just missed Ricks in the corner of the end zone before
finding Jones on a crossing pattern for the winning TD with nine ticks
remaining.
Whelihan completed 19-of-37 passes for 280 yards with an interception.
He drew the Chargers within six when he hit tight end Freddie Jones on a 25-yard
scoring strike with 4:14 left.
"Coming out of the huddle I wanted to make a big play," said Jones.
"I looked up and the ball came down. I juggled it and then I brought it
down for the score."
San Diego's Terrell Fletcher, playing in place of the injured Natrone Means, rushed for
51 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. His second score pulled the Chargers
within 34-24 with 8:01 to go.
"It felt great," Fletcher said. "I wanted to win and although they
stopped the run we still made some big plays thanks to Craig and the
receivers."
Bam Morris ran for a career-high three TDs for the Chiefs, the last of
which gave Kansas City a 34-17 lead with 11:46 to play. Morris also rushed
for three scores on October 19th, 1995 as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Morris, who had just 39 yards on 23 carries, scored on a two-yard run
with 6:15 left in the first half to pull the Chiefs within 17-14. He added
a one-yard plunge just 34 seconds into the second half to give Kansas City
a 21-17 lead.
"He showed power and the ability to pick and slide," said
Schottenheimer. "I think he's a good strong running back. The idea was to
get the running game going right off the bat, but it started off in
negative yards. Obviously we ended up staying with it."
Rich Gannon, making
his second straight start in place of the benched Elvis Grbac, connected on
a 35-yard TD pass to Derrick Alexander to knot
the contest at 7-7 with 7:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Gannon was 21-of-36 for 293 yards and an interception. Alexander
finished with five catches for 173 yards.
The Chargers struck first, mounting an eight-play, 61-yard march that
culminated in a four-yard TD run by Fletcher with 9:33 left in the first
quarter.
With the score knotted at 7-7, rookie Tremayne Stephens scored his
first career TD on a one-yard plunge to give the Chargers a 14-7 lead with
13:21 left in the first half. Tackle Jamal Williams recovered a
fumble by Morris at the Kansas City 34 and Carney kicked a 31-yard field
goal four plays later to give San Diego a 10-point lead with 9:07
remaining.
Kansas City's Pete
Stoyanovich made three field goals, including a 50-yarder with 5:28
remaining, which gave the Chiefs a 37-24 cushion. However, it was
Stoyanovich's missed 46-yarder with 57 seconds remaining which gave the
Chargers their last chance.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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