Week 2, September 11th, 1988, San Diego Chargers (1-0) @ Denver Broncos (0-1)

Sunday, September 11th, 1988 4:00PM
San Diego Chargers (1-0) @ Denver Broncos (0-1)
Mile High Stadium
Weather: 69 degrees, relative humidity 43%, wind 13 mph
Line: Denver -12 (san diego), O/U 43 (under)

Attendance:  75,359 (76,123)

San Diego 16, Denver 24

A key AFC West match-up featuring the 2 time defending AFC Champion Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers who won a hard fought battle in Los Angeles against the Raiders with 1 second left in overtime.

The Broncos won the coin toss and received the opening kickoff.  Thanks to some key catches by Gerald Willhite (2-17) and Clarence Kay (2-19), Denver got the ball down to the Charger 8, when Rich Karlis booted the 25 yard field goal for the early advantage.

The Chargers advanced their possession into Broncos territory, but were forced to punt.  Punter Ralf Mojsiejenko pinned the Broncos at the 6 yard line.  Cedric Figura forced WR Mark Jackson to fumble inside the 20 and the Chargers recovered.  Curtis Adams ran the ball for 12 yards to 1st and goal from the 2, but the Broncos defense held on 4 straight plays, ending it on a QB sneak by Mark Malone on the 1 for no gain on 4th down to maintain the 3-0 lead.

The Broncos moved the ball out of danger heading into the 2nd quarter, but could not reach midfield.  Tony Dorsett was stuffed for -1 yard on 3rd and 2 from the 45.  On the second play of the drive, Anthony Miller (3-83) caught a 49 yard bomb from QB Mark Malone 13-32, 167 Yards, 2 Int, 31.6 rating) to set up the 1st of 3 field goals by Steve DeLine, this one from 39 to tie the game.

Dan Reeves applauds his Broncos defense holding strong on 4 straight plays inside the 4 yard line.

The Chargers were able to take their next possession down to the 12 yard line thanks to a 15 yard run on 3rd down by Lionel James after an offsides call nullified a Denver stop on 3rd down, a 14 yard run by Gary Anderson, and a 12 yard catch by Darren Flutie (1-12).  Mark Malone, however, made a critical mistake in throwing an interception to Safety Mike Harden in the end zone.  John Elway gave the ball right back by fumbling a snap, recovered by Cedric Figura.  The Chargers capitalized this time with a 29 yard Steve Deline field goal to take a 6-3 lead at the 2 minute warning.  On the afternoon, the Chargers only scored 13 of 35 possible Red Zone points.

The Broncos and Elway promply gave the ball back on an interception by Sam Seale.  Deline booted a 35 yard field goal to put the Chargers up 9-3 at the half, but it should have been much more lopsided.

The Broncos held the Chargers quickly in the 1st possession of the 2nd half.  The Broncos drove down by using a tough running tandem of Tony Dorsett and Sammy Winder (49 yards between the 2 on the ground and by air) to set up Rich Karlis with a field goal try.  He missed the 36 yarder wide.

Denver again held the Chargers to a quick possession and again drove the ball into Charger territory.  Ricky Nattiel caught a huge 3rd down pass for 15 yards to the San Diego 13, and Vance Johnson caught a 15 yarder to set up the Broncos for 1st and goal from the 1.  The Chargers stopped Sammy Winder for no gain twice, and John Elway once.  Tony Dorsett did score the touchdown on 4th down to take a 10-9 lead with 1:58 remaining in the 3rd.

The Chargers had an answer.  A 9 yard catch by Quinn Early (2-13) on 3rd down and a 30 yard long pass again to Anthony Miller moved the chains into Denver territory.  Jamie Holland caught a 13 yard pass from Malone on 3rd and 10 from the 20.  The drive was capped by a 3 yard touchdown run by Curtis Adams (5-32 1 TD).  The Chargers led 16-10.

The Broncos answered quickly.  Elway (21-35, 273 Yards 1 TD, 1 Int, 82.2 rating) connected to Vance Johnson for 12 yards, then Orson Mobley for 11.  Then came the biggest play of the day and one that could possibly save the Broncos' season.  a 62 yard bomb from Elway to Mark Jackson who ran all the way to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown to make the score 17-16.

Mark Jackson runs for the end zone to put the Broncos up for good 17-16 with 10:26 remaining

The Chargers' Lionel James ripped off a 23 yard run to gain entry into Broncos territory, however the Chargers could not advance.  Al Saunders elected to punt on 4th down and 3, and attempt to pin the Broncos deep with 6:30 left.  Ralf Mojsiejenko was able to get it out of bounds at the 10, but a penalty nullified the effort.  The next try was fielded by Ricky Nattiel and returned 21 yards to the 28.  The Broncos were able to move the ball using a possession game and run valuable time.  Vance Johnson caught a pass for 16 yards, Dorsett ran for 15 yards, and Sammy Winder ran for 15 yards on 3 consecutive plays.  The drive culminated on Tony Dorsett's 3 yard touchdown run, his 2nd of the day, with 1:45 remaining to o up 2 scores 24-16, where the game ended.  Safety Dennis Smith snagged Mark Malone's 3rd interception of the game to seal the Bronco victory.

This game lends proof to the Chargers that early mistakes and missed opportunities can cost football games at the end.

Player of the Game:

Tony Dorsett - Broncos

Tony Dorsett scored 2 touchdowns in a game where they were hard to come by for both teams.  He had 21 carries for 71 yards.

1988 San Diego 16, 1988 Denver 24
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	Total
1988 San Diego	0	9	0	7	0	16
1988 Denver	3	0	7	14	0	24

Scoring Plays
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Scoring Description(Extra Point)	Score
1	9:03	1988 Denver	R.Karlis 26 yd. field goal	3-0 DEA
2	0:00	1988 San Diego	S.DeLine 39 yd. field goal	3-3 DEA
2	2:00	1988 San Diego	S.DeLine 29 yd. field goal	6-3 SDA
2	0:00	1988 San Diego	S.DeLine 35 yd. field goal	9-3 SDA
3	1:58	1988 Denver	T.Dorsett 1 yd. run (R.Karlis kick)	10-9 DEA
4	11:54	1988 San Diego	C.Adams 3 yd. run (S.DeLine kick)	16-10 SDA
4	10:09	1988 Denver	M.Jackson 62 yd. pass from J.Elway (R.Karlis kick)	17-16 DEA
4	1:45	1988 Denver	T.Dorsett 3 yd. run (R.Karlis kick)	24-16 DEA

Other Highlights
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Event	Player	Yards
1	14:05	1988 Denver	QBSack	Lee Williams	-6
1	3:41	1988 Denver	Fumble	Mark Jackson
2	11:31	1988 San Diego	Pass	Anthony Miller	49
2	3:53	1988 Denver	Intercept	Mike Harden	0
2	3:35	1988 Denver	Fumble	John Elway
2	1:07	1988 San Diego	Intercept	Sam Seale	10
3	8:17	1988 Denver	Missed Field Goal	Rich Karlis	36
4	14:22	1988 San Diego	Pass	Anthony Miller	30
4	9:13	1988 San Diego	QBSack	Greg Kragen	-8
4	1:22	1988 Denver	Intercept	Dennis Smith	10

Team Statistics
	1988 San Diego	1988 Denver
First Downs by Rush-Pass-Pen-Total	7-9-0-16	13-14-1-28
Third Down Efficiency	6-14-43%	7-12-58%
Fourth Down Efficiency	0-1-0%	1-1-100%
Red Zone Efficiency (pts-poss-pct)	13-35-37%	17-28-61%
Total Offense-Plays-Avg Yards Per Play	302-62-4.9	394-74-5.3
Total Net Yards Rushing	143	127
Total Rushes	29	38
Average Per Rush	4.9	3.3
Passes Completed/Attempted	13/32 (40.6%)	21/35 (60.0%)
Net Yards Passing	159	267
Avg Yards Per Pass	5.2	7.8
Sacked/Yards Lost	1/8	1/6
Punts/Average	4/41.3	2/45.0
Punts Received/Return Yardage	2/24	3/37
Kickoffs/Returns	2/45	4/72
Interceptions/Returns	1/10	2/10
Penalties/Yards	7/46	4/24
Total Fumbles/Fumbles Lost	2/0	2/2
Time of Possession	28 mins 33 secs	31 mins 27 secs
Average Drive Start	SDA 39	DEA 26

Passing Stats
	Att	Comp	Yds	Comp %	Yds/Att	TD	TD %	INT	INT %	Long	Sack	Rating
1988 San Diego
Mark Malone	32	13	167	40.6	5.2	0	0	2	6.3	49	1/8	31.6
1988 Denver
John Elway	35	21	273	60.0	7.8	1	2.9	1	2.9	62	1/6	82.2

Rushing Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv	Fumbles/Lost
1988 San Diego
Gary W. Anderson	15	66	4.4	14	0	0	0/0
Mark Malone	5	8	1.6	5	0	0	0/0
Curtis Adams	5	32	6.4	12	1	0	0/0
Tim Spencer	2	-1	-0.5	0	0	0	0/0
Lionel James	2	38	19.0	23	0	0	1/0
1988 Denver
Tony Dorsett	21	71	3.4	15	2	0	0/0
Sammy Winder	13	58	4.5	15	0	0	0/0
John Elway	4	-2	-0.5	0	0	0	1/1

Receiving Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv
1988 San Diego
Anthony Miller	3	83	27.7	49	0	0
Gary W. Anderson	2	12	6.0	8	0	0
Lionel James	2	16	8.0	10	0	0
Quinn Early	2	13	6.5	9	0	0
Arthur Cox	2	18	9.0	10	0	0
Darren Flutie	1	12	12.0	12	0	0
Jamie Holland	1	13	13.0	13	0	0
1988 Denver
Vance Johnson	6	83	13.8	16	0	0
Mark Jackson	4	80	20.0	62	1	0
Ricky Nattiel	3	36	12.0	15	0	0
Gerald Willhite	2	17	8.5	12	0	0
Clarence Kay	2	19	9.5	11	0	0
Orson Mobley	1	11	11.0	11	0	0
Sammy Winder	1	13	13.0	13	0	0
Tony Dorsett	1	7	7.0	7	0	0
Steve Sewell	1	7	7.0	7	0	0

Field Goals
	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	Totals	% Made
1988 San Diego
Steve DeLine	0/0	1/1	2/2	0/0	0/0	3/3	100
1988 Denver
Rich Karlis	0/0	1/1	0/1	0/0	0/0	1/2	50.0

Punting
	No	Avg	Net	Tb	Inside 20	Long	Blocked
1988 San Diego
Ralf Mojsiejenko	4	41.3	32.0	0	2	46	0
1988 Denver
Mike Horan	2	45.0	33.0	0	1	47	0

Kickoff Returns
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 San Diego
Jamie Holland	2	45	22.5	23	0
1988 Denver
Jason Johnson	2	40	20.0	21	0
Ken Bell	2	32	16.0	22	0

Punt Returns
	Ret	FC	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 San Diego
Lionel James	2	0	24	12.0	14	0
1988 Denver
Ricky Nattiel	3	0	37	12.3	21	0

Individual Defense
	Tackles	Sacks	Fum Rec
1988 San Diego
Cedric Figaro	12	0	1
Billy Ray Smith Jr.	7	0	0
Gill Byrd	6	0	0
Keith Browner	6	0	0
Lee Williams	5	1	0
Mike Charles	5	0	0
Vencie Glenn	4	0	0
Martin Bayless	3	0	0
Sam Seale	3	0	1
Joe Phillips	2	0	0
Elvis Patterson	1	0	0
Rod Bernstine	0	0	1
Anthony Miller	0	0	1
1988 Denver
Simon Fletcher	10	0	0
Mike Harden	4	0	0
Michael Brooks	4	0	0
Jim Ryan	3	0	0
Walt Bowyer	3	0	0
Greg Kragen	3	1	0
Jeremiah Castille	3	0	0
Karl Mecklenburg	3	0	0
Kevin Guidry	2	0	0
Mark Haynes	2	0	0
Dennis Smith	2	0	0
Rick Dennison	2	0	0
Tyrone Braxton	1	0	0

Interceptions
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 San Diego
Sam Seale	1	10	10.0	10	0
1988 Denver
Dennis Smith	1	10	10.0	10	0
Mike Harden	1	0	0.0	0	0

Game Story

In a back-and-forth affair Denver defeated San Diego by the score of 24 to 16. John Elway passed 35 times for 273 yards adding a touchdown. Tony Dorsett led all rushers, carrying the ball 21 times for 71 yards scoring 2 times. Denver was clutch on third down, converting on 7 of 12 opportunities. They won the air battle out-passing San Diego 273 to 167 yards. The fans were thrilled by a touchdown pass to Mark Jackson that gained 62 yards with 10:09 left in the 4th quarter. San Diego was on top at the half 9 to 3. Denver led after three quarters 10 to 9.