1990 San Diego Chargers season
His first draft choice was Junior Seau, who would go on to have his number retired by the Chargers after playing in San Diego for the first thirteen seasons of his Hall of Fame career.
The passing game was ranked well below the league average, but the Chargers had much more success while running the ball, with Marion Butts gaining 1,225 yards, a club record at the time.
The former Bill, who would go on to have 378 catches and 332 carries during his six seasons with the team,[14] was rumoured to have chosen San Diego over the Cardinals because Martin Luther King Day was not an official state holiday in Phoenix.
[15] Midseason addition Steve Hendrickson, signed primarily as a linebacker, also spent some time in the offensive backfield as an H-back or fullback, positions he had played in high school.
[18] There were fewer changes to the defense, which had ranked sixth in the league in 1989,[19] though cornerback Elvis Patterson was one of three Chargers picked up by the Los Angeles Raiders in Plan B free agency.
[20] Undrafted rookie defensive back Donald Frank and former Tampa Bay linebacker Henry Rolling both made the squad,[21] and would start games in the season ahead.
[22][23] On special teams, the Chargers released both their kicker and their punter for the second consecutive season, Chris Bahr and Hank Ilesic having posted inconsistent campaigns.
[24][25] Punter John Kidd was picked up from the Bills via Plan B free agency,[25] while Kitrick Taylor and Donnie Elder joined the team during the course of the season as returners of punts and kickoffs respectively.
[31] He held out through much of training camp and preseason, but signed a five-year deal worth $910,000 annually, seventeen days before the Chargers' regular-season opener against Dallas.
[58] More positively, the offensive line saw Cornish, Courtney Hall, Richards and Broderick Thompson start every game[59] and gave up only 20 sacks, tied for second best in the league.
O'Neal led the team in sacks with 13+1⁄2, ahead of a pair of defensive ends: Burt Grossman with 10, and Lee Williams, who slipped to 7+1⁄2 after posting 14 the season before.
The Chargers reached 3rd and 7 on the Dallas 14, from where Craig McEwen took a short pass on the left and slipped a tackle before cutting back inside and diving in for a touchdown.
The Bengals then drove 75 yards in 7 plays, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Esiason to former Charger James Brooks, who performed a 360° pirouette to pull in a slightly misplaced ball.
The next time San Diego had the ball, they drove into Cleveland territory before Tolliver threw an interception Mike Johnson returned for a touchdown, putting the Browns ahead 7–3.
Reveiz was short on a field goal attempt from 44 yards out on the next San Diego possession, and the Browns drove as far as the Charger 26 before Williams claimed his second sack of the game.
San Diego looked to have stopped the drive when Bayless sacked Warren Moon for a loss of 11 yards, and the Oilers' quarterback threw incomplete on the next two plays.
Tony Zendejas then missed a 40-yard field goal, but Seau was flagged for jumping to distract the kicker while behind the line of scrimmage, giving Houston a fresh set of downs.
San Diego had a 3rd and 8 at the Houston 37 going into the final quarter, but an off-target Tolliver pass was picked off by Bubba McDowell, and the Oilers took nearly seven minutes off the clock while driving for a field goal, and a ten-point lead.
The double turnover gave San Diego a first and goal; they moved the ball to the 1 with a Harmon run, before Butts (twice) and Bernstine were stopped for no gain, and New York took over on downs.
Darrin Nelson fumbled the ensuing free kick deep inside his own territory, and the Jets converted the opening into a field goal and a 3–2 lead, ten minutes into the game.
Tolliver's 23-yard completion was the biggest play on the ensuing drive, which saw San Diego move from their own 10 to the Los Angeles 20 before Carney kicked another field goal, 1:45 before halftime.
Seale intercepted Jay Schroeder to set up his offense at the Raider 44, but San Diego scored no points from the opening after Tolliver was sacked, and went into halftime 10–6 down.
Later in the quarter, Butts swept for 45 yards around left end, and appeared to have scored from the 1 three plays later; Arthur Cox, however, was flagged for illegal motion, negating the touchdown and eventually leading to another chip-shot field goal.
San Diego soon drove inside the Bronco 10 for the third time in the game, but Walker was flagged for holding and Carney came in to kick his fourth field goal.
On the Chargers' first play from scrimmage, Tolliver fumbled the snap and Kanas City recovered, setting up a Nick Lowery field goal and a 10–0 lead barely four minutes into the game.
San Diego managed a Carney field goal in response, but the Chiefs drove 78 yards in the 2nd quarter and doubled their lead through DeBerg's second touchdown pass.
The Chiefs looked set to extend their lead, but missed out on the chance to kick a field goal when the clock expired due to a misunderstanding as to whether a timeout had been called.
John L. Williams took a screen pass 60 yards on the next drive, breaking several tackles before Seale chased him down at the San Diego 26 to save a touchdown.
Denver, who had gone three-and-out on their first three possessions, finally drove in range for a field goal; David Treadwell's 46-yard kick was deflected by Grossman, however, and fell well short.
The Chargers gained a first down at the Raider 35 on their next drive, but Friesz was intercepted, and Los Angeles drove 76 yards the other way, scoring on a Marcus Allen touchdown.
