Second Try a Charm for Bahr : San Diego: Kicker misses first try at game-winning field goal, but gets a second chance because of a penalty and makes a 49-yarder with four seconds left to beat Eagles, 20-17.

For four weeks, the Chargers had found more ways to lose than they cared to imagine or admit.

But Sunday afternoon at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, they discovered a way to win that was more creative than, say, something written by Woody Allen and more exciting than a victory by Sunday Silence.

Chris Bahr’s 49-yard field goal with four seconds remaining beat the heavily favored Philadelphia Eagles, 20-17. It was Bahr’s longest field goal of the season and the Eagles’ first defeat after four consecutive victories.

And it might never have happened if reserve tackle James FitzPatrick hadn’t made a false start on the play before the game-winning kick.

“It’s the first time a penalty has ever helped us,” Charger Coach Dan Henning said.

“I’ll take a double-negative every time if it gives us a win,” FitzPatrick said.

An explanation:

After the Eagles had capitalized on an Eric Allen interception of a tipped Jim McMahon pass and tied the game, 17-17, on Keith Byars’ three-yard run early in the final period, the game appeared headed for overtime.

But with less than a minute to play, McMahon, who finished with 14 completions in 29 attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns, found rookie wide receiver Wayne Walker streaking up the right sideline past cornerback Izel Jenkins for 49 yards and a first down at the Eagle 27.

Three plays later, Bahr was lining up the 44-yarder that would win the game, providing he didn’t hook it to the left like the 33-yarder he attempted in the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, he did pull it. But because FitzPatrick moved before the snap, a dead ball foul was called and the play was negated.

“I saw my whole life flash in front of my face,” said FitzPatrick, who knew he had moved before the snap. “The first thing that goes through your mind is, ‘Jeez, I hope nobody saw it.’ ”

But even before Bahr could get his foot into the ball, flags were littering the air. “I was just trying to stay low,” FitzPatrick said. “But I flinched.”

By then all he could do was watch and hope the kick would miss. “I knew we’d get another chance because of the penalty,” he said. What he couldn’t be sure of was whether Bahr would make the second attempt if the first had been good. When it sailed to the left, FitzPatrick breathed easier.

“God or somebody must have turned that ball,” he said.

For his part, Bahr was also glad to get another chance. He said the whistles and flags that preceded the missed kick had not distracted him.

“I just pulled across it,” he said. The five extra yards, he said, didn’t bother him either.

“On the second one, I just told myself to make a good swing,” he said. “Sure I was nervous. Anybody who says they aren’t in that situation is a liar. But I wasn’t scared. And there’s a difference. I just said, ‘Trust your swing and make a good one.’ It’s just a shame this didn’t happen three games ago.”

This was the fifth consecutive week that the Chargers (3-6) had a chance to tie or win the game on their last possession.

Afterward, it was refreshing to hear Henning talk about how the Chargers kept extra blockers in to contain Eagle defensive end Reggie White and limit Philadelphia (6-3) to two sacks.

Or hear Anthony Miller talk about how Eagle free safety Wes Hopkins bit on the play fake that set up his 69-yard touchdown late in the third period. It was the Chargers’ longest play of the year and hiked their lead to 17-7. Their first 10 points came on a six-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Miller, who made a spectacular one-handed catch, and a 23-yard field goal by Bahr.

Philadelphia scored on a four-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from Randall Cunningham (19 of 29 for 236 yards) to wide receiver Greg Garrity and a 43-yard field goal by ex-Charger Steve DeLine. Garrity broke his collarbone on the play and will miss the rest of the season.