Today in 1985 - Los Angeles Raiders vs San Diego Chargers

Today in 1985, the San Diego Chargers hosted the Los Angeles Raiders at Jack Murphy Stadium in a Week 10 contest.

The Chargers scored first on a 10 yard pass from Dan Fouts to Wes Chandler.  The Raiders answered with a 35 yard touchdown run by Jessie Hester.  The score was 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with a 34 yard field goal by Bob Thomas and San Diego took the lead.  Frank Hawkins scored for Los Angeles on 1 yard touchdown run, but the extra point attempt failed.  At halftime, the Raiders led 13-10.

In the third quarter, Thomas kicked a 23 yard field goal to tie the game, but the Raiders took the lead again on 1 yard Marcus Allen touchdown run.  San Diego tied the game again when Fouts threw a 34 yard touchdown pass to Lionel James.  In true Raider fashion, Marc Wilson threw a 54 yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester.  Los Angeles led at the end of the third quarter 27-20.

The scoring wasn’t done yet.  Fouts threw a 21 yard touchdown pass to Gary Anderson to tie the game, but Wilson threw a 24 yard touchdown pass to Todd Christensen to give the Raiders the lead once again.  But San Diego would not be denied.  Fouts threw his fourth touchdown pass to Charlie Joiner to send the game to overtime tied 34-34.

In the overtime period, San Diego had the ball and James ran 17 yards for the winning touchdown.  The San Diego Chargers defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 40-34.

For the Raiders, Marc Wilson passed 18-32 for 297 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  Marcus Allen had 28 rushes for 119 yards and a touchdown.  He also had 5 receptions for 30 yards.  Todd Christensen had 7 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.  Jessie Hester had 2 catches for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Bill Pickel had a sack and Brad Van Pelt had an interception.

For the Chargers, Dan Fouts passed 26-41 for 436 yards with 4 touchdowns and an interception.  Lionel James had 7 rushes for 57 yards and a touchdown.  He also had 11 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown.  Gary Anderson had 4 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.  Wes Chandler had 4 receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.  Lee Williams had a sack.  Carlos Bradley and Danny Walters each had an interception.

San Diego went to 5-5 and finished the season at 8-8, third in the AFC West.  Los Angeles went to 6-4 and didn’t lose again for the rest of the regular season. They finished at 12-4, AFC West Champions.  They lost to the New England Patriots 27-20 in a divisional playoff game.

Trivia

• There were 7 Hall of Famers present: Marcus Allen, Howie Long, Mike Haynes, and owner Al Davis for the Raiders, and Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, and Kellen Winslow for the Chargers.
• This was Tom Flores’ seventh season coaching the Raiders.  He coached the team form 1979-87.
• This was Don Coryell’s eighth season coaching the Chargers.  He coached the team from 1978-86.  He was also the head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1973-77.
• Flores was a quarterback for the Raiders from 1960-66.
• The Raiders had two more overtime games that season.  Both were wins against the Denver Broncos.
• Future Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora was San Diego’s defensive quality control coach in 1985.
• San Diego also had an overtime game against the Denver Broncos.  The Chargers lost.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on November 10,

1940 – Detroit 17 – Chicago 14

1963 – Green Bay 28 – Minnesota 7

1968 – Minnesota 14 – Green Bay 10

1974 – Cincinnati 17 – Pittsburgh 10

1985 – Green Bay 27 – Minnesota 17

1985 – Chicago 24 – Detroit 3

1991 – Pittsburgh 33 – Cincinnati 27 OT

1996 – New England 31 – New York Jets 27

1996 – Cincinnati 34 – Pittsburgh 24

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Los Angeles Raiders vs San Diego Chargers - November 10, 1985.