1976 San Diego Chargers (NFL) |
| 3rd place • American Football Conference • Western Division • 6-8-0 .429 |
| Head Coach: Tommy Prothro |
| Earnel Durden | Offensive Backs |
| Rudy Feldman | Defensive Line |
| Bobb McKittrick | Offensive Line |
| Howard Mudd | Offensive Line |
| Jacki Simpson | Defensive Coordinator |
| Bill Walsh | Offensive Coordinator |
| Ernie Zampese | Defensive Backs |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 7/31/1976 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 20-7 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 23862 | |
| Fri | 8/6/1976 | N | New England Patriots | 26-17 | W | Norman, OK | Owen Field | 23800 | |
| Mon | 8/16/1976 | N | St. Louis Cardinals | 10-20 | L | Tokyo, Japan | Korakuen Stadium | 38000 | |
| Sat | 8/21/1976 | N | San Francisco 49ers | 16-17 | L | Halawa, HI | Aloha Stadium | 36364 | |
| Sun | 8/29/1976 | A | Seattle Seahawks | 16-17 | L | Seattle, WA | Kingdome | 59092 | |
| Sat | 9/4/1976 | H | New York Giants | 14-13 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 28797 | |
| Sun | 9/12/1976 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 30-16 | W | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 53133 | |
| Sun | 9/19/1976 | A | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 23-0 | W | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 38276 | |
| Sun | 9/26/1976 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 43-24 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 39911 | |
| Sun | 10/3/1976 | A | Denver Broncos | 0-26 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 62486 | |
| Sun | 10/10/1976 | H | Oakland Raiders | 17-27 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50223 | |
| Sun | 10/17/1976 | H | Houston Oilers | 30-27 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 31950 | |
| Sun | 10/24/1976 | A | Cleveland Browns | 17-21 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 60018 | |
| Sun | 10/31/1976 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 0-23 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 45484 | |
| Sun | 11/7/1976 | H | Baltimore Colts | 21-37 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 42827 | |
| Sun | 11/14/1976 | H | Denver Broncos | 0-17 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 32017 | |
| Sun | 11/21/1976 | A | Buffalo Bills | 34-13 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 36539 | |
| Sun | 11/28/1976 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 20-23 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 29272 | |
| Sun | 12/5/1976 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 13-7 | W | OT | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 33539 |
| Sun | 12/12/1976 | A | Oakland Raiders | 0-24 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 50102 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Charlie Aiu | 64 | LOG-ROG | 6-2 | 250 | 22 | Hawaii | 12 | 0 |
| Eddie Bell | 7 | WR | 5-10 | 160 | 29 | Compton JC; Idaho State | 5 | 0 |
| Chuck Bradley | 88 | TE | 6-6 | 243 | 26 | Oregon | 7 | 0 |
| Danny Colbert | 46 | LCB | 5-11 | 175 | 26 | Texas Christian; Tulsa | 13 | 9 |
| Pat Curran | 82 | TE | 6-3 | 238 | 31 | Iowa State; Lakeland | 14 | 14 |
| Fred Dean | 71 | LDE | 6-2 | 230 | 24 | Louisiana Tech | 14 | 14 |
| Charles DeJurnett | 73 | LDT-RDT | 6-4 | 265 | 24 | West Los Angeles JC; San Jose State | 13 | 0 |
| Larry Dorsey | 87 | WR | 6-0 | 190 | 23 | Tennessee State | 13 | 2 |
| Ed Flanagan | 54 | C | 6-3 | 246 | 32 | Purdue | 12 | 11 |
| Chris Fletcher | 44 | RS | 5-11 | 189 | 28 | Temple | 13 | 12 |
| Dan Fouts | 14 | QB | 6-3 | 210 | 25 | Oregon | 14 | 13 |
| Toni Fritsch | 15 | K | 5-7 | 188 | 31 | none | 5 | 0 |
| Mike Fuller | 42 | LS | 5-9 | 182 | 23 | Auburn | 14 | 14 |
| Gary Garrison | 27 | WR | 6-1 | 194 | 32 | Long Beach CC; San Diego State | 2 | 2 |
| Don Goode | 50 | LLB | 6-2 | 240 | 25 | Kansas | 14 | 14 |
| Tom Graham | 58 | MLB | 6-2 | 235 | 26 | Oregon | 10 | 8 |
| Tom Hayes | 22 | RCB | 6-1 | 199 | 30 | Riverside CC; San Diego State | 9 | 8 |
| Mitch Hoopes | 10 | P | 6-1 | 207 | 23 | Eastern Arizona JC; Arizona | 9 | 0 |
| Bob Horn | 55 | MLB | 6-3 | 239 | 22 | Oregon State | 14 | 6 |
| Neal Jeffrey | 19 | QB | 6-1 | 180 | 23 | Baylor | 5 | 0 |
| Gary Johnson | 79 | RDT | 6-2 | 255 | 24 | Grambling State | 14 | 14 |
| Charlie Joiner | 18 | WR | 5-11 | 186 | 29 | Grambling State | 14 | 14 |
| Leroy Jones | 68 | RDE | 6-8 | 245 | 26 | Norfolk State | 14 | 10 |
| Louie Kelcher | 74 | LDT | 6-5 | 290 | 23 | Southern Methodist | 14 | 14 |
| John Lee | 69 | RDE | 6-2 | 259 | 23 | Nebraska | 14 | 4 |
| Clint Longley | 16 | QB | 6-1 | 193 | 24 | Abilene Christian | 3 | 1 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 51 | RLB | 6-0 | 227 | 22 | Alabama | 14 | 14 |
| Don Macek | 62 | ROG | 6-2 | 270 | 22 | Boston College | 14 | 14 |
| Bo Matthews | 41 | RB | 6-3 | 222 | 25 | Colorado | 12 | 2 |
| Dwight McDonald | 89 | WR | 6-2 | 187 | 25 | San Diego CC; U.S. International; San Diego State | 12 | 10 |
| Larry Mialik | 83 | TE | 6-2 | 230 | 26 | Wisconsin | 7 | 0 |
| Rick Middleton | 57 | LLB | 6-3 | 230 | 25 | Ohio State | 10 | 0 |
| Mercury Morris | 23 | RB | 5-10 | 190 | 29 | West Texas A&M | 13 | 0 |
| Artie Owens | 85 | WR | 5-11 | 182 | 23 | West Virginia | 14 | 0 |
| Ralph Perretta | 53 | C | 6-2 | 252 | 23 | Purdue | 13 | 3 |
| Ray Preston | 52 | RLB | 6-0 | 221 | 22 | Syracuse | 14 | 0 |
| Sam Scarber | 30 | RB | 6-2 | 232 | 27 | Northeastern JC; New Mexico | 14 | 2 |
| Billy Shields | 66 | LOT | 6-8 | 281 | 23 | Georgia Tech | 14 | 14 |
| Ron Singleton | 72 | OT | 6-7 | 245 | 24 | Grambling State | 13 | 0 |
| Hal Stringert | 45 | LCB-RS-LS | 5-11 | 185 | 24 | Willamette; Hawaii | 11 | 2 |
| Jim Tolbert | 43 | CB | 6-3 | 205 | 32 | Lincoln (Missouri) | 4 | 0 |
| Russ Washington | 70 | ROT | 6-6 | 295 | 30 | Missouri | 14 | 14 |
| Ray Wersching | 6 | K | 5-11 | 215 | 26 | Cerritos JC; California | 9 | 0 |
| Jeff West | 80 | P | 6-3 | 218 | 23 | Cincinnati | 6 | 0 |
| Doug Wilkerson | 63 | LOG | 6-3 | 253 | 29 | North Carolina Central | 14 | 14 |
| Mike Williams | 20 | RCB-LCB-RS | 5-10 | 186 | 23 | Louisiana State | 14 | 11 |
| Don Woods | 33 | RB | 6-1 | 191 | 25 | New Mexico Highlands; New Mexico | 11 | 10 |
| Rickey Young | 34 | RB | 6-2 | 198 | 23 | Jackson State | 14 | 14 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 4 | Joe Washington | RB | Oklahoma |
| 2 | 31 | Don Macek | G | Boston College |
| 3 | 64 | Larry Dorsey | WR | Tennessee State |
| 4 | 94 | Bob Horn | LB | Oregon State |
| 4 | 113 | Ron Singleton | DT | Grambling State |
| 4 | 115 | Artie Owens | WR | West Virginia |
| 5 | 131 | Woodrow Lowe | LB | Alabama |
| 6 | 178 | Calvin Lane | DB | Fresno State |
| 8 | 212 | Tony DiRienzo | K | Oklahoma |
| 9 | 251 | Glynn Harrison | RB | Georgia |
| 10 | 268 | Jeff Perlinger | DE | Michigan |
| 11 | 295 | Ray Preston | LB | Syracuse |
| 12 | 322 | Ron Lee | DB | Oregon* |
| 12 | 337 | Herman Harris | DB | Mississippi Valley State |
| 13 | 351 | John Lee | DT | Nebraska |
| 14 | 378 | Ed Jones | G | Cincinnati |
| 15 | 407 | Jack Hoffman | DT-DE | Indiana |
| 16 | 434 | Jack Harrison | G | California |
| 17 | 463 | Clarence Sanders | LB | Cincinnati |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 43 | 84 | 40 | 75 | 6 | 248 |
| Opponents Totals | 67 | 71 | 43 | 104 | 0 | 285 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 30:11 | 256 | 111 | 127 | 18 | 79/195 40.5% | / % | 78 | 579 |
| Opponents Totals | 29:49 | 259 | 113 | 132 | 14 | 91/204 44.6% | / % | 92 | 823 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Joiner | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Rickey Young | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Toni Fritsch | 0 | 11 | 14 | 78.6 | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 0 | 29 |
| Ray Wersching | 0 | 14 | 16 | 87.5 | 4 | 8 | 50.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Bo Matthews | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Dwight McDonald | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Don Woods | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Mercury Morris | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Sam Scarber | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Pat Curran | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Gary Garrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tom Hayes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Artie Owens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Mike Fuller | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Team Totals | 32 | 26 | 31 | 83.9 | 10 | 20 | 50.0 | 0 | 248 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 30 | 34 | 88.2 | 17 | 34 | 50.0 | 0 | 285 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toni Fritsch | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 1 | 48 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 2/4 | 3/6 | 0/0 |
| Ray Wersching | 4 | 8 | 50.0 | 0 | 45 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 2/3 | 1/3 | 0/1 |
| Team Totals | 10 | 20 | 50.0 | 1 | 48 | 0/0 | 1/3 | 4/7 | 4/9 | 0/1 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 34 | 50.0 | 0/0 | 6/7 | 6/12 | 5/14 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rickey Young | 162 | 802 | 5.0 | 46t | 4 |
| Don Woods | 126 | 450 | 3.6 | 24 | 3 |
| Mercury Morris | 50 | 256 | 5.1 | 30 | 2 |
| Sam Scarber | 61 | 236 | 3.9 | 14 | 1 |
| Bo Matthews | 46 | 199 | 4.3 | 42t | 3 |
| Dan Fouts | 18 | 65 | 3.6 | 13 | 0 |
| Clint Longley | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 9 | 0 |
| Pat Curran | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Mitch Hoopes | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Neal Jeffrey | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff West | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Dorsey | 1 | -12 | -12.0 | -12 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 473 | 2040 | 4.3 | 46t | 13 |
| Opponents Totals | 516 | 2048 | 4.0 | 46 | 10 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Fouts | 359 | 208 | 57.9 | 136 | 2535 | 7.1 | 12.2 | 81t | 14 | 3.9 | 15 | 4.2 | 39 | 220 | 2315 | 75.4 |
| Clint Longley | 24 | 12 | 50.0 | 9 | 130 | 5.4 | 10.8 | 28t | 2 | 8.3 | 3 | 12.5 | 7 | 51 | 79 | 54.5 |
| Don Woods | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 1 | 11 | 5.5 | 11.0 | 11t | 1 | 50.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 106.3 |
| Neal Jeffrey | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 0 | 11 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 89.6 |
| Charlie Joiner | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 388 | 223 | 57.5 | 147 | 2687 | 6.9 | 12.0 | 81t | 17 | 4.4 | 18 | 4.6 | 46 | 271 | 2416 | 74.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 386 | 219 | 56.7 | 147 | 2822 | 7.3 | 12.9 | 74t | 21 | 5.4 | 20 | 5.2 | 23 | 194 | 2628 | 76.4 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Joiner | 50 | 1056 | 21.1 | 81t | 7 |
| Rickey Young | 47 | 441 | 9.4 | 33 | 1 |
| Don Woods | 34 | 224 | 6.6 | 34 | 1 |
| Pat Curran | 33 | 349 | 10.6 | 29 | 1 |
| Sam Scarber | 14 | 96 | 6.9 | 13 | 1 |
| Bo Matthews | 12 | 81 | 6.8 | 15 | 0 |
| Dwight McDonald | 11 | 161 | 14.6 | 44t | 4 |
| Larry Dorsey | 8 | 108 | 13.5 | 19 | 0 |
| Mercury Morris | 8 | 52 | 6.5 | 20 | 0 |
| Artie Owens | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 28t | 1 |
| Gary Garrison | 2 | 58 | 29.0 | 36 | 1 |
| Chuck Bradley | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 223 | 2687 | 12.0 | 81t | 17 |
| Opponents Totals | 219 | 2822 | 12.9 | 74t | 21 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Goode | 6 | 82 | 13.7 | 27 | 0 |
| Mike Williams | 4 | 76 | 19.0 | 35 | 0 |
| Tom Graham | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 25 | 0 |
| Tom Hayes | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 37t | 1 |
| Hal Stringert | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Leroy Jones | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Bob Horn | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Mike Fuller | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 20 | 299 | 15.0 | 37t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 18 | 185 | 10.3 | 46t | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff West | 38 | 1548 | 40.7 | 57 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 223 | 1225 | 32.2 |
| Mitch Hoopes | 42 | 1628 | 38.8 | 57 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 378 | 1110 | 25.2 |
| Team Totals | 82 | 3176 | 38.7 | 57 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 601 | 2335 | 28.5 |
| Opponents Totals | 66 | 2720 | 41.2 | 62 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 490 | 2070 | 31.4 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Fuller | 33 | 0 | 436 | 13.2 | 43 | 0 |
| Eddie Bell | 7 | 0 | 31 | 4.4 | 10 | 0 |
| Mike Williams | 5 | 1 | 23 | 4.6 | 15 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 45 | 1 | 490 | 10.9 | 43 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 45 | 3 | 601 | 13.4 | 92t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artie Owens | 25 | 551 | 22.0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Mike Fuller | 20 | 420 | 21.0 | 47 | 0 | |
| Ralph Perretta | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Rick Middleton | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Bo Matthews | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Eddie Bell | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Ray Preston | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Bob Horn | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 52 | 1076 | 20.7 | 47 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 49 | 1072 | 21.9 | 43 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Louie Kelcher | 6.5 | |
| Leroy Jones | 5.0 | |
| Fred Dean | 4.5 | |
| Woodrow Lowe | 3.0 | |
| Gary Johnson | 1.5 | |
| John Lee | 1.5 | |
| Don Goode | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 23.0 | 194.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 46.0 | 271.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Colbert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Dorsey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ed Flanagan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Chris Fletcher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Fouts | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 0 | |
| Mike Fuller | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Don Goode | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tom Graham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Hoopes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -15 | 0 | |
| Neal Jeffrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8 | 0 | |
| Charlie Joiner | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Louie Kelcher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Lee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Macek | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bo Matthews | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| Rick Middleton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mercury Morris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Artie Owens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ralph Perretta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -32 | 0 | |
| Ray Preston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Scarber | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Russ Washington | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Woods | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rickey Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 28 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 25 | -55 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 24 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 1 |
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