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Sunday, Oct. 3 4:15pm ET
Chargers intercept Grbac four times | |||||||||||||||
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BOX SCORE
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- It looked like it was going to be a slam dunk for the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Diego Chargers.
But with a little jump shot, safety Michael Dumas and the Chargers' defense saved a little face. A week after allowing Peyton Manning to throw for 404 yards, San Diego intercepted Elvis Grbac four times, two of them leading to touchdowns, and rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to beat the Chiefs 21-14. Dumas had the momentum-swinging first interception and cornerback Darryll Lewis, starting in place of injured Terrance Shaw, had two as the defense bailed out the non-existent offense. Carrying the load "is something that we're getting used to," Dumas said. "The defense is setting the tone. We played San Diego Charger defense today." Quarterback Jim Harbaugh left with a bruised right elbow late in the first quarter, and the Chargers didn't crack the 100-yard mark until the third quarter. They finished with just 132 yards, and netted only three yards on two possessions in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Erik Kramer threw two touchdown passes, but the Chargers had to go only 10, 18 and 22 yards on their scoring drives. The field position was courtesy of the defense and special teams. It looked like the Chargers were in big trouble when tight end Tony Gonzalez caught a 12-yard pass from Grbac for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. The former college basketball star celebrated by dunking the ball through the goal posts. San Diego started its comeback with an interception and 24-yard return by Dumas to the K.C. 10 with 8:03 left in the second quarter. After high-fiving fans in the end zone seats, Dumas lobbed the ball through the goal posts as if he were shooting baskets. "I was too tired to try to go for the dunk like Gonzalez does," Dumas said. "I did the next best thing. "Once the first interception came, that was a momentum-changer and we were able to regroup and the offense started controlling the ball a little better and put the points on the board," he added. Two plays later, Natrone Means broke two tackles to complete a 4-yard TD run. Lewis got his first interception after Junior Seau and Lew Bush pressured Grbac, and an unnecessary roughness call on Chiefs center Tim Grunhard moved the ball to the Kansas City 22. That set up the winning touchdown, on Kramer's 11-yard pass to Chris Penn with 10:57 to go in the third quarter. Dumas said the Chargers (2-1) match up well with Kansas City's skill players. And there was a little matter of being embarrassed by Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in a 27-19 loss in their home opener. "We knew we could play better than that," Dumas said.
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