Chargers Flashback: 1984
Around 1983, sometimes some Chargers fans would say the Air Coryell Chargers came up short. After all the Air Coryell offense lit up the scoreboard week after week, but where was the Superbowl ring? QB Dan Fouts and the Chargers would lose close playoff games year after year, including in the 1981 Freezer Bowl game vs the Bengals.
During the strike-shortened 1982 season, Fouts averaged what was then a record of 320 yards passing per game. (The NFL record is 342.31, set by Peyton Manning in 2013.) Highlights that season included back-to-back victories against the 1981 Super Bowl teams San Francisco (41–37) and Cincinnati (50–34) in which Fouts threw for over 400 yards in each game to lead the Chargers to shootout victories.
John Jefferson #Chargers pic.twitter.com/DLf7ausWoB
— Old Time Football ? (@Ol_TimeFootball) July 7, 2021
John Jefferson was a part of a legendary Don “Air” Coryell offensive attack which included quarterback Dan Fouts, receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow. He logged three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Chargers, hauling in a total of 199 pass for 3,431 yards and 36 touchdowns while averaging 17.2 yards per catch.
He was named All-Pro and reached the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons in San Diego, before being traded to the Green Bay Packers ahead of the 1981 season. He would spend four years with the Packers, making another Pro Bowl appearance in 1982, but his production dropped. As a Packer, Jefferson caught 149 passes for 2,253 yards and 11 touchdowns. Following the 1985 season, Jefferson joined the Cleveland Browns for a single season, starting only two games while appearing in seven. He caught three passes for 30 yards. Jefferson retired after that season at 29 years old. In 102 games, he caught 351 passes for 5,714 yards and 47 touchdowns. He was admitted into the ASU Football Hall of Fame in 1979, and was placed into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
The Chargers made it back to the playoffs, but after beating the Steelers in the first round, they lost to the Dolphins 34–13 in a rematch of their playoff game from the previous season. That loss began a slide for the Chargers, who from 1983 to 1991 failed to make the playoffs every season.
The Chargers hosting a pre-season game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in 1987
In 1984, Klein cut salary in preparation of selling the team, sending defensive linemen Johnson and Kelcher to San Francisco, where they would join Dean and offensive tackle Billy Shields for another 49ers championship in Super Bowl XIX. Alex Spanos purchased a majority interest in San Diego from Klein on August 1. Alex G. Spanos still owns 97% of the team and George Pernicano owns the other 3%. Benirschke was named “Miller Man of the Year” and Joiner set an NFL record with his 650th pass reception in the fourth quarter of the game at Pittsburgh. In 1985 guard Ed White set an NFL record by playing in 241 NFL games, most all-time among offensive linemen. Lionel “Little Train” James, a mere 5’6″ and 171 pound running back, set NFL record of 2,535 all-purpose yards while also setting a record of 1,027 receiving yards by a running back. Al Saunders was named the seventh head coach in Chargers history in 1986 following the resignation of Coryell. In 1987 Joiner retired to become receivers coach of the Chargers. The Chargers finished with an 8–7 record, their first winning record since 1982, despite winding up with six straight losses. In 1988 Fouts retired after a 15-year career in which he set seven NFL records and 42 club records, and became the NFL’s second most prolific passer of all-time with 43,040 yards. Fouts’s jersey number (14) was retired at halftime of “Dan Fouts Day” game in San Diego.
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