1998 San Diego Chargers season

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1998 San Diego Chargers season
Owner
Qualcomm Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

The

season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 39th overall and was the second and final season under Kevin Gilbride. After a 2–4 start, Gilbride was fired and June Jones coached the final ten games of the season as interim head coach, the team going 3–7 under his stewardship. San Diego's defense led the league in yards allowed; however, a weak offense under infamous draft bust quarterback Ryan Leaf meant that the team was last in the AFC West. The team scored a total of 241 points, an average of 15.1 points per game, the second lowest in the NFL, with only the Philadelphia Eagles performing worse with 161 (10.1 per game).[3][4]

With the retirement of

1998 draft seeking a new quarterback. There were two outstanding prospects; when Indianapolis took future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the #1 pick, Leaf went to San Diego. Immediately named the starter, he began 2–0 before an infamous performance at Kansas City, after which he was caught on camera shouting at a reporter.[5]

Leaf finished with 15 interceptions and only two touchdown passes in ten games; Craig Whelihan replaced him as the starter for the final seven games, but also performed poorly. The two combined for 34 interceptions, the worst tally in the NFL for a decade; San Diego had 51 turnovers in total, 8 more than any other team in 1998. The inexperienced quarterbacks were hampered by the departure of star receiver Tony Martin during the offseason. In his absence, Charlie Jones led the team with 699 yards, while tight end Freddie Jones had the most receptions with 57. Natrone Means returned to lead the rushing attack after two seasons in Jacksonville. He performed well prior to a season-ending injury, gaining 883 yards in ten games.

On defense, Norman Hand was promoted to starting defensive tackle, and led the team with 6.0 sacks; Greg Jackson had the most interceptions, with six. Pro bowlers Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison made 115 and 114 tackles respectively – the most any other player had was 63. Kicker John Carney, who had been injured for most of the previous season, returned and converted 26 attempts out of 30.

The ineffective offense and rookie Leaf's obnoxious behavior toward teammates damaged morale;

Strong safety Rodney Harrison described the season as "a nightmare you can't even imagine. If I had to go through another year like that, I'd probably quit playing".[6]

Following the season, Oregon State head coach Mike Riley was named Chargers' head coach.

Offseason

NFL draft

1998 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Ryan Leaf  Quarterback Washington State from Arizona
2 59 Mikhael Ricks  Tight end Stephen F. Austin
5 126 Cedric Harden  Defensive end Florida A&M
6 155 Clifford Ivory  Cornerback Troy
7 194 Jon Haskins  Linebacker Stanford
7 234 Kio Sanford  Wide receiver Kentucky
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Supplemental draft

1998 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 2 Jamal Williams *  Defensive tackle Oklahoma State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jeff Baker Quarterback Wisconsin–La Crosse
Jeremy Earp Wide receiver Wisconsin–La Crosse

Personnel

Staff

1998 San Diego Chargers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – John Hastings

[7]

Roster

1998 San Diego Chargers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 25
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 58
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 93
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 20
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 92
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 28
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 70
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 84
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 Buffalo Bills W 16–14 1–0
Qualcomm Stadium
64,037
2 September 13 at Tennessee Oilers W 13–7 2–0
Vanderbilt Stadium
41,089
3 September 20 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–23 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 73,730
4 September 27 New York Giants L 16–34 2–2 Qualcomm Stadium 55,672
5 October 4 at Indianapolis Colts L 12–17 2–3 RCA Dome 51,988
6 October 11 at Oakland Raiders L 6–7 2–4 Network Associates Coliseum 42,467
7 October 18 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–10 3–4 Qualcomm Stadium 56,967
8 October 25 Seattle Seahawks L 20–27 3–5 Qualcomm Stadium 58,512
9 Bye
10 November 8 at Denver Broncos L 10–27 3–6 Mile High Stadium 74,925
11 November 15 Baltimore Ravens W 14–13 4–6 Qualcomm Stadium 54,388
12 November 22 Kansas City Chiefs W 38–37 5–6 Qualcomm Stadium 59,894
13 November 29 Denver Broncos L 16–31 5–7 Qualcomm Stadium 66,532
14 December 6 at Washington Redskins L 20–24 5–8
Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
65,713
15 December 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–38 5–9 Kingdome 62,690
16 December 20 Oakland Raiders L 10–17 5–10 Qualcomm Stadium 60,716
17 December 27 at Arizona Cardinals L 13–16 5–11
Sun Devil Stadium
71,670

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week One: Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 0 7714
Chargers 3 0 10316

at

San Diego, California

Game information

A missed field goal allowed the Chargers to escape with a win on Ryan Leaf's debut. Leaf had an uncertain start, fumbling his first snap (the Chargers recovered), and throwing an interception in Bills' territory. The San Diego defense, however, allowed only 73 yards in the first half, and the Chargers led 3–0 at the break.

Leaf found Bryan Still for 67 yards on the first play of the 3rd quarter, and hit the same player on a fade route two plays later for his first NFL touchdown pass. However, with San Diego up 13–7 in the 4th quarter, Leaf threw his second interception, setting up Buffalo for a 31-yard drive culminating when Doug Flutie and Andre Reed combined for their second touchdown pass of the day. John Carney's 54-yard field goal on the next possession clipped the upright but still went through, restoring the lead.

Buffalo faced a 4th and 26 on their final possession, but a 36-yard pass interference penalty on Terrence Shaw kept the drive going. Seven plays later, Steve Christie, who had earlier missed from just 21 yards out, pushed a 39-yarder wide left with three seconds left, and the Chargers had the win.

This game constituted the first time since 1985 that the Chargers played the Buffalo Bills.[8] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[9]

Week 2: at Tennessee Oilers

Week Two: San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 3 3 7013
Oilers 0 7 007

at

Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

Game information

Another strong defensive performance gave San Diego their second win. The lone Tennessee score was aided by a fake punt on 4th and 10; after Natrone Means put the Chargers up 13–7 in the 3rd quarter, the Oilers failed to cross midfield in their final four possessions. Ryan Leaf had a cleaner game, passing for 179 yards with no turnovers, while rushing for 31 yards, including a 20-yard scramble that set up Means' touchdown. Leaf became the first rookie to start 2–0 since John Elway in 1983, but would win only twice more in his entire career.

Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Three: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 0 707
Chiefs 6 10 7023

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 20
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
    CDT
  • Game weather: 71 °F (21.7 °C), relative humidity 86%, wind 10 mph
  • Game attendance: 73,730
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Sam Wyche
  • Box score
Game information

The Chiefs' defense brought Ryan Leaf savagely back down to earth, as he posted the only

0.0 passer rating by any QB during the 1998 season. Leaf completed 1 pass in 15 attempts for 4 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions – he also lost three fumbles, committing five turnovers on the Chargers' first seven possessions. With a pair of sacks pushing them to minus-19 net passing yards, the Chargers had the worst total by any NFL team for 13 years.[10]

Natrone Means was the lone bright spot on offense; he ran 22 times for a career-high 165 yards, and prevented the shutout with a career-long 72 yard touchdown run.

Week 4: vs. New York Giants

Game information