Today in 1989 - San Diego Chargers vs Denver Broncos

October 8, 1989 – Today in 1989, the San Diego Chargers visited Mile High Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos in a Week 5 matchup.

The game started off as a battle of the field goals.  The Chargers scored first on a 39 yard field goal by Chris Bahr and San Diego led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Denver answered in the second quarter with a 46 yard field goal and an 18 yard field goal by David Treadwell.  Denver took the lead at halftime 6-3.

The only scoring in the third quarter came on a 2 yard touchdown run by Marion Butts.  San Diego led at the end of the third quarter 10-6.

But Denver would not be denied.  In the fourth quarter, Treadwell kicked a 27 yard field goal to close the gap and Bobby Humphrey had a 17 yard touchdown run to put the game away.  The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers 16-10.

For the Chargers, Jim McMahon passed 10-19 for 116 yards and an interception.  Tim Spencer had 15 rushes for 78 yards.  For the Broncos, John Elway passed 19-35 for 199 yards and an interception.  Bobby Humphrey rushed 12-102 yards and a touchdown.

San Diego fell to 2-3 with the loss.  They finished the season at 6-10.  Denver went to 4-1.  They finished the season at 11-5 and were given an offensive clinic in Super Bowl XXIV by the Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers 55-10.

Notables

• There was 1 Hall of Famer present in this game, Denver’s John Elway.
  
• This was Dan Henning’s first season coaching the Chargers.  He coached the team from 1989-91.
  
• This was Dan Reeves’ ninth season coaching the Broncos.  He coached the team from 1981-92.  He led the team to three Super Bowl appearances, losing all of them.
  
• Both Reeves and Henning were head coaches of the Atlanta Falcons.  Henning coached them from 1983-86 and Reeves coached them from 1998-2003.  He led them to a Super Bowl appearance in 1998, losing to his old team, the Denver Broncos.
  
• Rick Dennison became the offensive coordinator for the Broncos from 2006-08. 
  
• Two players and a coach from Denver are now coaches with the Houston Texans: backup quarterback Gary Kubiak (head coach), linebacker Rick Dennison (offensive coordinator), and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips (defensive coordinator).
  
• Phillips was the head coach for the Broncos from 1993-94.
• Reeves and Henning both played in 1966, but never against each other.  Reeves was a running back for the Dallas Cowboys from 1965-72. Henning was a quarterback for the Chargers in 1966.
  
• There were three future head coaches on Reeves’ staff.  Chan Gailey became the coach of the Dallas Cowboys (1998-88) and the Buffalo Bills (2010-present).  Phillips became head coach of the New Orleans Saints (interim 1985), Broncos, Buffalo Bills (1998-2000), Atlanta Falcons (interim 2003), and the Dallas Cowboys (2007-10).  Mike Nolan became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2005-08.
  
• There was one future head coach on Henning’s staff, Jim L. Mora.  He became the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2004-06) and the Seattle Seahawks in 2008.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on October 6,

1961 – Chicago 31 – Detroit 17

1967 – St. Louis Cardinals 34 – Minnesota 24

1972 – St. Louis Cardinals 19 – Minnesota 17

1978 – San Diego 23 – Denver 0

2000 – Denver 21 – San Diego 7

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at San Diego Chargers vs Denver Broncos - October 8, 1989.