Chargers’ Returns Deliver a Victory, 27-21
Junior Seau and Andre Coleman proved to be the problem for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, not Randall Cunningham.
Seau returned a fumble 29 yards and Coleman returned a punt 88 yards for a score as the San Diego Chargers rallied from a 14-0 deficit with a 17-point surge in a 3:11 span for a 27-21 victory over the Eagles.
“We got where we are because we were opportunistic,” Coach Bobby Ross said of the defending AFC champions. “We were a little bit more that way today.”
The big plays by the Chargers (2-1), which came at the end of the second quarter and the start of the third, turned the game around and gave the Chargers control with a 24-14 lead.
Seau finished with a game-high 12 tackles, all solo. His touchdown was his first in six pro seasons.
Cunningham, benched last week amid trade rumors, played well enough to keep his job, completing 23 of 39 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He left the game for one play after being sacked by Shawn Lee in the third quarter.
Cunningham recovered from a sore right shoulder to lead the Eagles (1-2) on an 80-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Ed West that cut the San Diego lead to 27-21 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
But San Diego’s defense held and the Chargers gave the ball to Natrone Means, who rushed for 87 of his 122 yards in the second half despite spraining his left ankle in the third quarter.
“I feel we gave away one that we shouldn’t have,” Eagle Coach Ray Rhodes said.
The Eagles went three-and-out on the second half’s first possession, and Coleman returned the punt 88 yards down the right sideline to give the Chargers a 24-14 lead with 1:42 gone in the third quarter.
Trailing 14-0, the Chargers scored 17 points in the second quarter, taking the lead with two scores in a 13-second span in the first half’s final two minutes.
Stan Humphries connected with Tony Martin on a 39-yard pass play to set up a 35-yard field goal by John Carney that made it 14-10 with 1:29 left in the second quarter.
On Philadelphia’s next play, Willie Clark forced a Calvin Williams fumble that Seau recovered and returned 29 yards for the touchdown that gave the Chargers their first lead with 1:16 left in the half.