Chargers Still Come Up Short
With two touchdowns by running back Priest Holmes and a touchdown pass from Trent Green to Tony Gonzalez, the Kansas City Chiefs jumped to a 14-point halftime lead and then trumped a comeback try by the San Diego Chargers for a 28-24 victory Sunday before a crowd of 57,671 at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Chiefs (11-1) clinched at least a tie for the AFC West title.
“We’re not done yet,” said Gonzalez, who caught four passes for 28 yards and two touchdowns. “We have things to do, we have to stay hungry.”
The Chargers slid to 2-10.
As if a porous defense and two missed field-goal attempts were not reason enough for fan discontent, the Chargers’ lawsuit filed against the city hung in the air like coastal fog. Security guards seized signs from fans criticizing the team’s management for what is thought locally to be a scheme to move to Los Angeles.
Hard feelings over the litigation were benched, at least momentarily, as the Chargers mounted a comeback.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers had cut the Chiefs’ lead to 21-17 with a 21-yard field goal by Steve Christie and a 20-yard touchdown pass from Doug Flutie to David Boston. But two miscues by Flutie ended promising drives.
With 11:18 remaining, a fumble by the 41-year-old on the Charger 27-yard line was recovered by defensive end Gary Still. Eight plays later the Chiefs scored on a Green-to-Gonzalez pass.
Then with 4:20 remaining, a Flutie pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Greg Wesley. After the Chiefs were forced to punt, Flutie threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antonio Gates with four seconds left, but it was too late.
“It doesn’t get easier, each loss gets worse,” said Flutie, who completed 16 of 34 passes for 213 yards and gained 53 yards in eight running plays.
Charger Coach Marty Schottenheimer was noncommittal about whether he will bench Flutie in favor of Drew Brees.
“We’ll talk about it when we look at the tape tomorrow,” he said.
The Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson gained 106 yards in 19 carries. Holmes gained 162 in 31 carries.
“The Priest was preaching out there,” Charger defensive end Marcellus Wiley said.
As Schottenheimer is watching tape, the City Council today will be devising a counter offensive to the Chargers’ lawsuit.
The suit asserts that the team’s finances are so dire that it deserves to invoke a clause in its lease at Qualcomm to talk to other cities. The lease runs through 2020.
Before kickoff, City Atty. Casey Gwinn conducted an informal survey of fans and found no support for the Chargers’ request for a city subsidy to build a new stadium.
“The Chargers filed a lawsuit either because they want to leave or they want to use the threat that they will leave as leverage for a new stadium,” Gwinn said. “Both of those things are offensive to the San Diego public.”