NFL Old School Game of the Week: Special Teams and Defense Help Chiefs to Shootout Win over Chargers

Chiefs strong safety Lloyd Burruss(34)intercepted three passes, returning two of them for touchdowns in the Chiefs' 42-41 win over the Chargers.

When somebody reads the stat line of the 1986 Week 7 game between the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, they would probably assume that the Chargers won the game in a blowout as they had 290 more yards of total offense and 22 1st downs than the Chiefs did.

But that was not the case as the Chiefs pulled off a remarkable victory over their division rivals thanks to touchdowns from their defense and special teams.

The Chiefs came into the game looking to snap a two-game losing streak and get back over .500 as they held a 3-3 record under head coach John Mackovic who was in his fourth season as the Kansas City head coach who was trying to lead the Chiefs to the playoffs for the first time since 1971.

The Chiefs began the season with Todd Blackledge as the starting quarterback, who had struggled ever since he was taken with the #7 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft ahead of future Hall-of-Famers Jim Kelly and Dan Marino, as Blackledge had thrown 25 interceptions compared to 12 touchdown passes in his first three seasons as he went back-and-forth with veteran Bill Kenney as the Chiefs starter.

Kansas City's strength in 1986 was its defense led by its outstanding secondary that featured the outstanding cornerback tandem of Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross plus hard hitting free safety Deron Cherry.

The other member of this starting secondary was strong safety Lloyd Burruss who would be making his return to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a hamstring injury as Kansas City prepared to face the famous "Air Coryell" offense of the Chargers.

San Diego came into the game hoping to end a five-game losing streak as the Chargers stood with a 1-5 record under head coach Don Coryell who was in his ninth season as the San Diego head coach having led the Chargers to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 1980 + 81.

While the dynamic passing offense led by quarterback Dan Fouts, wide receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow still had some punch, the Chargers' defense was atrocious as they had given up an average of 26.5 points per game and 407.8 yards per game up to this point in the 1986 season.

To make matters worse for the Chargers, they were going to face wide receiver Stephone Paige who had torched them for a then NFL record 309 yards on eight catches in their previous meeting with the Chiefs, a 38-34 defeat in the final game of the 1985 regular season.

It looked like it was going to deja vu all over again as on the first play of the Chiefs' second drive of the game, Paige caught a 45-yard touchdown from Blackledge to give Kansas City an early 7-0 lead that was set up by a blocked punt by Lewis.

The Chargers would begin their ensuing possession at their 25-yard-line as Fouts would complete his next six passes for 43 yards despite being taken out for one play after a hard hit by Chiefs linebacker Tim Coefield to help San Diego advance to the Kansas City 25-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 situation as Coryell decided to go for the 1st down.

It looked like the gamble would not pay off as running back Gary Anderson was stopped short of the line to gain but the Chargers would catch a break as Chiefs strong safety Lloyd Burruss jumped offsides on the play resulting in a San Diego 1st down at the Kansas City 20-yard-line.

Following a 13-yard run by Tim Spencer on the next play from scrimmage, Fouts connected with Anderson for a seven-yard touchdown to help tie the game at seven with 3:41 left in the first quarter.

Chargers running back Gary Anderson had 240 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns.

Both teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the second quarter when Burruss began to atone for his penalty earlier in the game as he would intercept a Fouts pass to end a Chargers drive that had advanced into Kansas City territory.

The Chiefs would not be able to cash in on the turnover as they punted the ball back to the Chargers who would take over at their 45-yard-line when Burruss struck again, this time intercepting a pass intended for running back Lionel James, and running it back 56 yards for the touchdown to give Kansas City a 14-7 lead.

To add injury to insult, James sprained his ankle on the play and was lost for the game as running back Buford McGee would take his place as the Chargers' kick returner on the ensuing kickoff.

McGee would field the kick at his five-yard-line before stumbling and fumbling the ball as Ross would scoop up the ball and ran it in for a 21-yard touchdown, the second touchdown in 12 seconds for the Chiefs, which increased Kansas City's lead to 21-7.

The Chargers would respond with a nine-play, 75-yard drive where Fouts go a perfect 5-of-5 for 57 yards on the drive, connecting with Winslow three times for 41 yards, to set up a one-yard touchdown run by McGee to trim the Chiefs' lead to 21-14 with 4:41 to go in the second quarter.

After a Kansas City three-and-out, the Chargers got the ball back at their 33-yard-line as an incomplete pass and a eight-yard run by McGee would bring up a 3rd & 2 when Fouts threw a pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Pete Holohan and into the arms of Burruss as the defensive back set a NFL record for most interceptions in a quarter with his third pick of the game.

Burruss would then tie the record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown in a single game as his 47-yard return for a touchdown extended Kansas City's lead to 28-14 with 2:42 to go before halftime.

A 33-yard return by Anderson on the ensuing kickoff gave the Chargers great field position as a 24-yard pass from Fouts to Anderson would set up a 30-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke to cut the Chiefs' lead to 28-17 with just 66 seconds to go in the first half.

The Chiefs would get the ball back at their 14-yard-line for their ensuing possession as they looked to add on to their lead before the end of the half as they had all three timeouts left in their pocket.

However, disaster would strike on the first play from scrimmage as Blackledge's screen pass intended for running back Boyce Green was intercepted by Chargers defensive end Leslie O'Neal, who only needed to run five yards for the touchdown cut the Kansas City lead to 28-24 with 55 seconds to go in the half.

The Chiefs would then run the ball to run out the clock on the first half following a 38-point second quarter which saw three interceptions return for touchdowns as well as a fumble returned for a touchdown.

San Diego would get the ball to start the second half as Mark Herrmann would take over for Fouts, who had been dizzy even since the hart hit by Coefield on the Chargers' first touchdown drive of the game, as the Chargers would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Chiefs, who would take over at the San Diego 20-yard-line after a 48-yard return by Jeff Smith on the ensuing punt.

When the Chiefs' offense came back onto the field, they did so with Kenney at quarterback as he replaced Blackledge who was benched after a first half in which he completed six of 15 passes for 69 yards as Kansas City complied just 87 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of the game.

The move to Kenney paid dividends as he would find Paige in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown to push the Chiefs' lead back to double digits at 35-24 just 2:03 into the second half.

Chiefs wide receiver Stephone Paige only caught three passes for 66 yards but two of those catches were for touchdowns.

The Chargers would answer back with a 12-play, 80-yard drive as Herrmann completed five of six passes for 55 yards on a drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Anderson to make it an one-possession game again at 35-31 with 6:46 to go in the third quarter.

Following a Kansas City punt, the Chargers got the ball back at their 20-yard-line as Herrmann would lead San Diego down to the Chiefs' six-yard-line where they would have a 1st & goal situation at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the Chargers could not punch into the end zone as they would settle for a 21-yard field goal by Benirschke to make it a 35-34 game as Kansas City would begin its next possession at their 20-yard-line.

After picking up one 1st down, Kenney would complete a 27-yard pass to tight end Walt Arnold to move Kansas City into Chargers territory at the San Diego 43-yard-line where on the next play, Kenney would escape the pressure from Chargers linebacker Thomas Benson and hit Henry Marshall for 28 yards and a 1st down at the Chargers' 15-yard-line.

Paige would then run a reverse for 12 yards to the San Diego three-yard-line as Mike Pruitt would run for two yards to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Green to push the Chiefs' lead to 42-34 with 10:18 to go in the fourth quarter.

With no two-point conversion in the NFL in 1986, the Chargers needed two scores and a stop from their defense in order to take the lead as San Diego would begin its next drive at their 15-yard-line.

The Chargers would drive to the Kansas City 42-yard-line until Herrmann threw a bomb intended for Anderson that was intercepted by Lewis to kill the San Diego drive and give the Chiefs the ball at their two-yard-line.

The Chargers' defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at the Chiefs' 34-yard-line where it took them five plays to get into the end zone as Herrmann fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to Anderson to make it a one-point game again at 42-41 with 3:42 to go in the game.

The Chiefs would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Chargers who would take over in Kansas City territory as Anderson's 30-yard punt return gave San Diego the ball at the Chiefs' 47-yard-line with 55 seconds left in the game.

Herrmann would complete an eight-yard run to Anderson to start the drive which was followed by a six-yard run by the quarterback to give the Chargers a 1st down at the Kansas City 33-yard-line as San Diego needed a few more yards to get into Benirschke's range for a game-winning field goal.

Herrmann would then throw two straight incomplete passes to set up 3rd & 10 when Herrmann threw a pass intended for wide receiver Trumaine Johnson that drew a pass interference penalty on Chiefs cornerback Greg Hill to give the Chargers a 1st down at the Chiefs' 17-yard-line.

Even though there was still 28 seconds to go, Coryell decided to send in the field goal unit here as the Chargers had no timeouts remaining as Benirschke would attempt a 35-yard field goal that would give San Diego its first lead of the game.

But Benirschke would miss the field goal as his kicked sailed wide left of the uprights, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock by taking a knee as Kansas City would come away with the 42-41 win despite being outgained 512 to 222 on total offense while giving up 35 1st downs compared to the 13 the Kansas City offense made.

One week after the loss to the Chiefs, the Chargers would fire Coryell and elevate wide receivers coach Al Saunders to the head coaching position as San Diego would finish the season with a 4-12 record, the team's worst record in over a decade.

As for the Chiefs, they would ride the rest of the regular season with Kenney as the team's starting quarterback as the win over the Chargers began a four-game winning streak, which was followed by a three-game losing streak, and then another three-game winning streak to end the season with a 10-6 record as Kansas City earned a spot in the AFC playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

The win that clinched the playoff spot for the Chiefs was very similar to this game as Kansas City overcame a 515-171 margin on total offense by scoring touchdowns on a blocked punt, a blocked field goal, and a kickoff return to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-19 in the final game of the regular season.

However, the Chiefs' foray into the playoffs would be a short one as Blackledge started in placed of an injured Kenney as Kansas City fell to the New York Jets 35-15 in the AFC Wild Card Game as Mackovic would be fired a few days later after the loss to the Jets.