NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chargers Overcome 2 TD Deficit to Stun Marino + Undefeated Dolphins

Dan Fouts threw for  380 yards and four touchdowns in the Chargers' upset win over the Dolphins.

When the Miami Dolphins faced off with the San Diego Chargers in week 12 of the 1984 NFL season, it might been seen by some as a passing of the torch when it came to who had the best passing offense in the league as the famed "Air Coryell" offense of the Chargers was set to meet the new kid on the block in Dan Marino

The Dolphins came into the game with a 11-0 record thanks to their high-powered offense led by Marino, who in his second season in the NFL had already established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Through the first 11 games, Marino had throw for 3,678 yards and 30 touchdown passes in directing an offense that featured the "Marks Brothers" in wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper plus running back Tony Nathan who was more a pass catcher than a runner.

With head coach Don Shula at the helm, many Miami fans were dreaming of another undefeated Dolphins team much like the one Shula directed in 1972.

While the Dolphins were marching toward the playoffs, the Chargers  came into the game with Miami with a 5-6 record as San Diego was hoping to get on some sort of winning streak to get back into the playoff race.

The Chargers were coached by Don Coryell, who had came to San Diego following a five-year stint with the St. Louis Cardinals and led the Chargers to four straight playoff appearances from 1979 through 1982 with two of those appearances resulting in trips to the AFC Championship Game.

Under Coryell, the Chargers led the league in passing every season since 1979 thanks to their explosive "Air Coryell" offense which was led by quarterback Dan Fouts and featured weapons such as tight end Kellen Winslow, wide receivers Charlie Joiner and Wes Chandler and running back Chuck Muncie.

But it seemed that the Chargers' days at the top passing attack in the NFL were numbered especially after trading Muncie just two weeks into the season and then losing Winslow to a devasting knee injury a month prior to the game with the Dolphins.

San Diego still had Fouts, who had set the record for most passing yards with 4,802 in 1981 as well as Joiner and Chandler as they prepared to host the undefeated Dolphins in what many hoped would be a shootout similar to their one in the "Epic in Miami" in January of 1982.

 Starting at the Chargers' 47-yard-line following a 41-yard return by Fulton Walker on the opening kickoff, Marino would complete a nine-yard pass to Clayton, then hand the ball off to Nathan who picked up four yards, and then hit Duper for a 32-yard pass to give Miami a 1st & goal at the San Diego two-yard-line.

But on the very next play, running back Woody Bennett would fumble the football when he was hit by Chargers linebacker Linden King, leading to a recovery by free safety Ken Greene in the endzone for a touchback.

The Chargers would drive into Dolphins territory but would punt the ball back to Miami, who took over at its 20-yard-line as Marino would lead the Miami offense to the San Diego 32-yard-line until he was picked off by Chargers cornerback John Turner on a pass intended for tight end Bruce Hardy.

The Chargers would take over at their seven-yard-line as Fouts hit Bobby Duckworth for a 44-yard completion which was followed by four straight runs by running back Earnest Jackson for 19 yards putting San Diego at the Miami 30-yard-line.

Fouts would then find Pete Holohan for 22 yards to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the eight-yard-line as two straight running plays would pick up five yards to set up Fouts' three-yard touchdown pass to Sievers to give San Diego a 7-0 lead with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Dolphins would begin its ensuing possession at their 22-yard-line as Marino completed four of six passes for 52 yards on a nine-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Marino throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Clayton that helped tied the game at 7 with 11:59 remaining in the second quarter.

After a San Diego three-and-out, the Dolphins got the ball at their 40-yard-line as Marino would go a perfect 5-for-5 for 58 yards on an eight-play, 60-yard drive that culminated with an one-yard touchdown run by fullback Pete Johnson to give Miami a 14-7 lead at the halfway point of the second quarter.

Dan Marino would complete 28 of 41 passes for 332 yards and throw two touchdowns.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as they were able to drive to the Dolphins' 41-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 when Coryell decided to go for the 1st down which he got when Jackson ran for the one yard that San Diego needed.

Six plays later, the Chargers were back in the end zone as Fouts connected with Joiner for a four-yard touchdown to cap off the 14-play drive and tie the game back at 14 with 2:27 left in the first half.

The Dolphins would begin its next possession at their 28-yard-line as Marino would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then hit Duper for 22 yards and a 1st down at the 50-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

Marino would then complete back-to-back passes to Nathan totaling 19 yards then found tight end Dan Johnson for six yards before an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd & 4 where Marino hit Nathan again this time for 13 yards and a 1st down at the San Diego 13-yard-line.

After completing a four-yard pass to Clayton, Marino connected with Bennett for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins a 21-14 lead with 47 seconds left before halftime.

San Diego would get the ball back at its 20-yard-line with enough time to try and drive into field goal range which is exactly what happened as Fouts completed passes of 23 yards to Joiner and 19 yards to Chandler as the Chargers drove to the Miami 28-yard-line with one second left giving Rolf Benirschke a chance to cut into the lead before halftime.

But Benirschke's 46-yard field goal would said wide left and no good keeping the score 21-14 as the first half came to an end.

The two teams traded punts to start the second half until the Chargers forced another turnover when Bennett fumbled the football again at the end of a 14-yard run that was recovered by Greene at the San Diego 21-yard-line.

However, the Chargers could not take advantage of the turnover as Fouts would be intercepted by Miami free safety Lyle Blackwood to give the ball back to Marino at the San Diego 48-yard-line.

Following a four-yard run by Nathan to start the drive, Marino would find Hardy for 13 yards, then Duper for 12 yards, and then Clayton for nine yards to set up a three-yard touchdown run by Johnson to increase the  Dolphins' lead to 28-14 with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Fouts completed a nine-yard pass to Jackson to start the drive, then hit Duckworth for 16 yards and a 1st down at the San Diego 45-yard-line as Fouts would throw two straight incompletions before connecting with Joiner for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Miami 42-yard-line.

Three runs by Jackson would pick up 12 yards before Fouts connected with tight end Eric Sievers for 11 yards to put San Diego at the Dolphins' 19-yard-line when Fouts hit Joiner on a slant pass for the touchdown to cut the Miami lead in half to 28-21 with 13:31 to go in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins would pick up only one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Chargers who would take over at their nine-yard-line when they would put together one of the more impressive drives in the 
"Air Coryell" era.

Chargers running back Earnest Jackson would have 28 carries for 124 yards.

The drive would began with a 13-yard pass from Fouts to Chandler followed by a nine-yard pass to Sievers to put the Chargers at their 31-yard-line as Jackson would run for three yards, then for 16 more to put San Diego at the 50-yard-line.

After Jackson was dropped for a four-yard-loss on a screen pass, Fouts would connect with Holohan for nine yards, then again for six yards to pick up another 1st down at the Miami 39-yard-line.

Jackson would get his hands on the ball on the next two plays as he caught a five-yard pass then had a carry for four yards to set up 3rd & 1 when running back Buford McGee got the ball and ran for four yards for the 1st down at the Miami 26-yard-line.

Fouts would then hit Sievers on back-to-back passes for seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 as Jackson would run for five more yards and another 1st down at the Miami 14-yard-line where Fouts would complete a pass to Wayne Morris that gained zero yards as the two-minute warning hit.

Following an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Fouts would hit Sievers for nine yards to bring up a do-or-die 4th & 1 when Jackson took a handoff from Fouts and was able to run for two yards for a 1st down at the three-yard-line.

After McGee was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Fouts found Sievers wide open in the end zone for the three-yard touchdown that with Benirschke's extra point tied the game at 28 with 51 seconds left in regulation following an epic 19-play, 91-yard drive that took over 10 minutes off the clock.

The Dolphins would get the ball back at their 33-yard-line with a chance to drive down into field goal range to give Uwe Von Schmann a chance to win the game with a field goal.

Following an incomplete pass to start the drive, Marino would hit Nat Moore for nine yards, then with Clayton for 23 yards, and then Nathan for nine yards before throwing the ball out of bounds to stop the clock with five seconds left and a chance for von Schmann to win the game with a 44-yard field goal.

However, von Schmann's kick would sail wide left and no good, sending the game into overtime tied at 28.

Eric Sievers would catch 12 passes for 119 yards and score two touchdowns.

The Chargers would win the coin toss and chose to receive to start the overtime period as a 25-yard return by Lionel James on the kickoff gave San Diego the ball at its 31-yard-line.

The drive would start with a four-yard run by Jackson followed by a 15-yard pass from Fouts to Sievers to put San Diego at the 50-yard-line as Fouts would throw an incomplete pass to bring up 2nd down when Jackson ran for 10 yards and a 1st down at the Miami 40-yard-line.

Fouts would then find Holohan again for 15 yards and another 1st down at the Miami 25-yard-line as the Chargers were in range for a Benirschke field goal attempt.

However, they would not settle for a field goal just yet as McGee was stopped for no gain on 1st down which was followed by an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd & 10.

That is when Fouts handed the ball off to McGee, who took the ball around the right side of the field and ran it in for a 25-yard walk-off touchdown to give the Chargers a 34-28 overtime win, ending the Dolphins' dreams of an undefeated season.

The Dolphins would bounce back as they would finish the season with a 14-2 record as Marino would set numerous NFL records including breaking Fouts' record of most passing yards in a season as Marino would finish with 5,084 yards and 48 touchdown passes also a NFL record.

The Dolphins would go on to knock off the Seattle Seahawks 31-10 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs then defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-28 in the AFC Championship Game behind Marino's 421 yards and four touchdown passes, to advance to Super Bowl XIX where they would fall to the San Francisco 49ers 38-16.

As for the Chargers, the win over the Dolphins would be the highlight of their season as they would lose three of their last four games of the season to finish with a 7-9 record and out of the playoffs for the second straight season.

The "Air Coryell" era would last until midway through the 1986 season when Coryell resigned halfway through the season after a 1-7 start.