NFL Old School Game of the Week: Chargers Knock off Dolphins in Another Playoff Thriller

 

Chargers cornerback Dwayne Harper celebrates after his team overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the Dolphins in the 1994 Playoffs.

On January 2, 1982, the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins participated in one of the greatest games in NFL history as the Chargers came away with a 41-38 overtime victory in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in a game had a combined 1,036 yards of total offense and push both teams to the brink of complete exhaustion under the hot, muggy conditions of south Florida.

Thirteen years later, the two teams participated in another postseason classic as the Dolphins traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers once again in the divisional round of the AFC Playoffs.

The Dolphins were coming off a 27-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs the week before as Miami quarterback Dan Marino completed 22 of 29 passes for 257 yards and threw two touchdowns in the game.

Marino, who was coming off a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury one year earlier, was hoping to lead the Dolphins back to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade who would become the first team in Super Bowl history to play the championship game in their home stadium as Joe Robbie Stadium was set to host the Super Bowl that year.

Standing in their way were the Chargers, who were the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 11-5 record which earned them the AFC West division title, the second division championship since Bobby Ross became the San Diego head coach in 1992.

On the field, the Chargers offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who had arrived in San Diego the same time as Ross did, and running back Natrone Means who ran for 1,350 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during the regular season.

The defense was led by all-pro linebacker Junior Seau, who led the team in tackles with 155(124 of them solo), and defensive end Lesile O'Neal who led the team in sacks with 12.5 as San Diego won their first six games of the '94 season before going 5-5 during the rest of the season.

The Chargers were also looking for revenge as it was the Dolphins who had eliminated the Chargers two years earlier in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs as Miami defeated San Diego 31-0 to end the Chargers' first trip to the postseason in a decade.

The Dolphins would start the game on offense as it took Miami just one play to get into Chargers territory as Marino completed a 31-yard pass to tight end Keith Jackson to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the San Diego 35-yard-line.

But the Dolphins would move no further as two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack would force them to punt the ball to the Chargers, who would take over at their 20-yard-line.

After both teams went three-and-out, the Chargers got the ball back at their 14-yard-line as three runs by Means for 33 yards and a pair of completions by Humphries would move San Diego to the Miami 32-yard-line until Means caught a six-yard pass only to fumble when he was hit by Miami defensive end Marco Coleman as linebacker Jesse Soloman would make the recovery for the Dolphins at their 21-yard-line.

From there, the Dolphins would travel 79 yards in nine plays as Marino completed two passes to Irving Fryar for 37 yards on the drive which ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to give Miami a 7-0 lead with 2:24 to go in the first quarter.

The Chargers would get the ball back at their 26-yard-line as they hold the ball for nearly seven minutes as they drove 72 yards in 14 plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by John Carney that put San Diego on the scoreboard to make it a 7-3 game with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter.

The Dolphins would get great field position for their next possession as O.J. McDuffie would return the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Miami 48-yard-line as Marino would go a perfect 5-of-5 on the six-play drive which ended with another touchdown pass to Jackson, this one from nine yards out to extend the Dolphins' lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

The Chargers next drive would start at their 27-yard-line as Humphries would complete a nine-yard pass to Mark Seay which was followed by two straight carries by Means for 38 yards to put San Diego at the Miami 26-yard-line.

Eric Bieniemy would give Means a breather as he carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining a total of 20 yards to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Dolphins' six-yard-line.

However, the Chargers could not punch into the end zone as they settle for another 20-yard field goal by Carney that cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-6 with 2:47 left before halftime.

The Dolphins would begin their next possession at their 30-yard-line as Marino would complete six of eight passes for 66 yards on the nine-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with Marino's third touchdown pass of the first half, a 16-yarder to wide receiver Mike Williams with 27 seconds left in the half to push Miami's lead back to double digits at 21-6.

The Chargers would try to get some more points before the end of the half but Humphries would be picked off by Miami defensive back Frankie Smith to end the first half with the Dolphins on top 21-6.

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards and threw three touchdowns in the first half.

San Diego would get the ball to start the second half as the Chargers would drive from their 28-yard-line to the Miami 25-yard-line until they were faced with a 4th & 7 situation when Ross decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.

The gamble would work as Humphries would complete a 15-yard pass to give the Chargers a 1st & goal at the Miami 10-yard-line as San Diego would advance all the way to the one-yard-line when they were faced with another 4th down situation as Ross once again went for it.

But this time the gamble would not pay off as Means would take it outside and get pushed out of bounds by Coleman and strong safety Michael Stewart to end the Chargers' 15-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock only to result in zero points.

However, the Chargers would get two points on the Dolphins' next play from scrimmage as defensive tackle Reuben Davis would tackle running back Bernie Parmalee in the end zone for a safety to cut the Miami lead to 21-8 but more importantly give the ball right back to the Chargers following the Dolphins' free kick.

Starting at their 46-yard-line, the Chargers would drive to the Miami 24-yard-line until Means took a handoff from Humphries around the right side, broke through a few Miami tackles, then carried Dolphins cornerback J.B. Brown for the last seven yards into the end zone for an amazing 24-yard touchdown run that with the extra point cut the Dolphins' lead to 21-15 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers caught a break on the touchdown as replays showed that Means had stepped out of bounds at the two-yard-line but with no instant replay in the NFL in 1994 the touchdown stood.

After both teams traded punts, the Dolphins had the ball at their 15-yard-line when the most bizarre play of the game occurred as Marino completed a 20-yard pass to Jackson, who while being dragged down by Charger defenders, tried to lateral the ball to Fryar, only for the ball go forward and be recovered by the Chargers.

But instead of getting the ball in Miami territory with a chance to drive for the go-ahead touchdown, the officials ruled that Jackson had thrown an illegal forward pass which negated the fumble and allowed the Dolphins to keep the ball after a five-yard penalty and loss of down.

The Dolphins would end up punting the ball back to the Chargers who took over at their 19-yard-line with 8:03 left in the game and needing seven points to take the lead.

The drive would begin with two runs by Means for 13 yards followed by Humphries completing three of his next four passes for 31 yards to move San Diego to the Miami 37-yard-line when the game's next controversy occurred.

Humphries would threw deep for Shawn Jefferson in the end zone, who would make the catch and get both feet in bounds for an apparent touchdown only for the officials to say he did not get both feet in bounds to make the pass incomplete and bring up 2nd & 10 at the Miami 37-yard-line.

That is when disaster struck for the Chargers as Humphries would be picked off as Miami cornerback Troy Vincent would tip a pass intended for Martin that ended up in the hands of Stewart to give the Dolphins the ball at their 24-yard-line with 4:24 left on the clock and a chance to milk some time off the clock.

However, the Chargers' defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 39-yard-line with 3:16 left to go in the game and all three timeouts in San Diego's pocket plus the two-minute warning.

Chargers running back Natrone Means ran for 139 yards on 24 carries and scored one touchdown.

The drive would begin with a nine-yard pass from Humphries to Ronnie Harmon, followed by a three-yard-run by Means to pick up a San Diego 1st down and then a 10-yard pass from Humphries to Martin for another Chargers 1st down at the Miami 39-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

Humphries would then complete a six-yard pass to Harmon on 1st down, throw an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and then hit Martin for 15 yards to give San Diego a fresh set of downs at the Dolphins' 18-yard-line with a little over a minute to go.

Harmon would get his hands on the ball on the next two plays, first catching a eight-yard pass from Humphries and then running for one yard to set up a 3rd & 1 when Means got the call as he was able to pick up the needed yard to give San Diego a 1st & goal at the Miami eight-yard-line.

That is when Humphries hits a wide open Seay, who catches the ball at the four-yard-line, then runs in untouched for the eight-yard touchdown that with Carney's extra point gave the Chargers their first lead of the game at 22-21 with just 35 seconds left in the game.

The Dolphins would get one last chance to win the game as Carney would squib the ensuing kickoff to give Miami good field position as they would take over possession at their 38-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Marino would throw deep for Fryar, who drew a pass interference penalty on Chargers defensive back Eric Castle, resulting in a 32-yard gain to give Miami a 1st down at the San Diego 30-yard-line with 17 seconds remaining.

The Dolphins would travel no further as Marino would throw two straight incomplete passes before Shula sent in Pete Stoyanovich to go and try to win the game with a 48-yard field goal.

The snap from center Jeff Dellenbach was high but holder John Kidd was able to catch it and get a good hold for Stoyanovich, whose kick was long enough but sailed wide left and no good as the Chargers would come away with the 22-21 victory and advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 13 years.

One week later, the Chargers' magical season would continue with a 17-13 upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers as linebacker Dennis Gibson would knock down Steelers quarterback Neil O' Donnell's pass intended for running back Barry Foster on 4th & goal late in the game to preserve the San Diego victory and send the Chargers to first ever Super Bowl.

However, the Chargers would be unable to lift the Lombardi Trophy as they were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX behind 49ers quarterback Steve Young's record six touchdown passes.