The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 42nd overall and the third and final season under head coach Mike Riley. The team improved on their 1–15 record in 2000 to finish 5–11 but missed the playoffs for the 6th straight year. It was Mike Riley's final season as the team's head coach. At the end of the season running back LaDainian Tomlinson nearly won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Despite going 5–11 after losing their final nine games of the season, eight of the Chargers' losses were by less than a touchdown, five of them were by three points, and three of them were by ten points. In their 11 losses, they lost by 61 points total.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsQB Doug Flutie (Bills) QB Ryan Leaf (Buccaneers/Cowboys)LB Sam Rogers (Bills) G Ben Coleman (Redskins)LB John Holecek (Bills) K John Carney (Saints)DE Marcellus Wiley (Bills) S Mike Dumas (Bears)K Steve Christie (Bills) QB Jim Harbaugh (Lions)WR Tim Dwight (Falcons) CB Alex Molden (Saints) T Ed Ellis (Redskins) K Wade Richey (49ers) CB Ryan McNeil (Cowboys)
Becoming the "Bills West"
In December 2000, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson fired his general manager, John Butler, and his entire staff. The Chargers immediately signed Butler, and within weeks, Butler had cut several players from the roster including troubled quarterback Ryan Leaf, and lured several recognizable names from the 2000 Bills team: defensive end Marcellus Wiley, linebackers Sam Rogers and John Holecek, kicker Steve Christie and most notably, quarterback Doug Flutie, who had been cut by the Bills in a bitter quarterback controversy involving Rob Johnson. With so many former Bills connections, the team was often referred to as the "Bills West".Roth, Leo. Bills East vs. Bills West. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. October 23, 2001.Banks, Don. AFC is where all the action is lately. SI.com. October 19, 2001. (See also the 1995 Carolina Panthers season, in which Bill Polian brought several Bills contributors from the team's Super Bowl era to Carolina in its inaugural year of play.)
As such, the October 28 matchup between the Bills and Chargers in San Diego was heavily promoted as a dual grudge match, not just between Johnson and Flutie, but also between Wilson and Butler, with Wilson having been quoted as wanting to win the Chargers game more than the Super Bowl. Despite the fact that the Bills were having a very bad season, and the Chargers' fortunes (at the time) had turned significantly, the game was very competitive, coming down to the final minutes play. Trailing 24–20, Flutie scrambled 13 yards to put the Chargers up 27–24; when kicker Jake Arians attempted a 44-yard field goal to tie the game, it was blocked.Flutie works his magic – again – to beat Bills 27–24. Associated Press. October 28, 2001. The Chargers, then 5–2, would not win another game the entire season, going 0–9 in the remaining nine games.
NFL draft Michael Vick was selected in the 2001 NFL draft as the first overall pick and first African American quarterback taken number 1 in the NFL draft. The San Diego Chargers had the number one selection spot in the draft that year but traded the rights to the first overall choice to the Atlanta Falcons a day before the draft, for which they received the Falcons' first round pick (5th overall) and third round pick in 2001 (used to draft CB Tay Cody), a second round pick in 2002 (used to draft WR Reche Caldwell) and WR/KR Tim Dwight.ESPN – Chargers big winner in different draft-day deal – NFL With the Chargers' downgraded spot (the 5th overall), they selected Texas Christian University running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who went on to become league MVP in 2006. Although Vick has never become league MVP, he finished second in voting in 2004. In this way, Tomlinson and Vick are linked as having been "traded" for each other, although the transaction was actually the result of traded draft picks and contract negotiations. The Chargers' other notable draft pick was Drew Brees, who would eventually win Super Bowl XLIV as a member of the Saints.
Undrafted free agents + 2001 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJustin AmmanGuardFlorida StateKecalf BaileyCornerbackAlabamaWalter BernardCornerbackNew MexicoCarey ClaytonCenterUTEPRobert EllisTight endBoston CollegeDondre GilliamWide receiverMillersvilleTroy GrantDefensive backTennessee TechBart HendricksQuarterbackBoise StateMichael KeathleyGuardTCUMarty MaurerTight endOregon StateRob PateSafetyAuburnTitcus PettigrewSafetyPenn StateDeRonnie PittsWide receiverStanfordBrad RekucLinebackerWeber StateScott SchultzDefensive tackleNorth DakotaDeQuincy ScottDefensive endSouthern MissMukala SikyalaRunning backMarylandTim StuberTackleColorado StateNate TurnerWide receiverUNLVTerry WitherspoonFullbackClemson
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 San Francisco 49ers W 25–24 1–0 Qualcomm Stadium 45,155 Recap 2 at Miami Dolphins W 23–20 2–0 Pro Player Stadium 58,854 Recap 3 St. Louis Rams W 13–10 3–0 Qualcomm Stadium 53,700 Recap 4 at Arizona Cardinals L 3–16 3–1 Sun Devil Stadium 27,301 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 Washington Redskins W 30–3 1–0 Qualcomm Stadium 60,629 2 September 23 at Dallas Cowboys W 32–21 2–0 Texas Stadium 63,430 3 September 30 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–14 3–0 Qualcomm Stadium 56,048 4 October 7 at Cleveland Browns L 16–20 3–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,018 5 October 14 at New England Patriots L 26–29 3–2 Foxboro Stadium 60,292 6 October 21 Denver Broncos W 27–10 4–2 Qualcomm Stadium 67,521 7 October 28 Buffalo Bills W 27–24 5–2 Qualcomm Stadium 63,698 8 November 4 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–25 5–3 Qualcomm Stadium 58,789 9 November 11 at Denver Broncos L 16–26 5–4 Invesco Field 74,951 10 November 18 at Oakland Raiders L 24–34 5–5 Network Associates Coliseum 61,960 11 November 25 Arizona Cardinals L 17–20 5–6 Qualcomm Stadium 49,398 12 December 2 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 5–7 Husky Stadium 55,466 13 December 9 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–24 5–8 Veterans Stadium 65,438 14 Oakland Raiders L 6–13 5–9 Qualcomm Stadium 67,349 15 December 23 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 5–10 Arrowhead Stadium 76,131 16 December 30 Seattle Seahawks L 22–25 5–11 Qualcomm Stadium 51,412 17 Bye Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Washington Redskins
Both teams opened with a three-and-out. When Washington punted, Dwight took the ball at his own 16 and profited from good blocking as he wove to the left sideline and completed an 84-yard touchdown without being touched. Dwight and Conway caught passes of 17 and 24 yards from Flutie on back-to-back plays on the next Charger drive, setting up a field goal. When Tomlinson scored his first career touchdown after a short drive in the 2nd quarter, it was 17–0 without Washington having crossed midfield. They did reach a 1st and 10 at the Charger 46 on the following drive, but Jeff George's long pass was then intercepted in the end zone by Alex Molden. Richey's second field goal was set up by a 15-yard Dwight punt return.
Five of the first eight possessions after halftime resulted in turnovers. John Parrella recovered a George fumble in Washington territory, but Flutie was intercepted three plays later. After three punts, Tomlinson fumbled in his own territory, and Washington reached the San Diego 1 yard line before Seau forced a fumble that Rodney Harrison recovered. Two plays later, Conway lost a fumble, setting up the only Washington points of the game. The Chargers responded with Richey's third field goal on their next drive and concluded the scoring when Dwight drew a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, and Tomlinson scored again two plays later.
The San Diego defense gave up 161 yards, which would be comfortably their best total of the season; both teams committed four turnovers.. Tomlinson's 36 carries were tied for the third-most in Charger history at the time, while his 113 yards rushing yards remain a record for a Charger on debut . Both teams' head coaches (Riley and Marty Schottenheimer) would be sacked at the end of the season, with Schottenheimer taking over the San Diego job.
Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
Jamal Williams recovered a mishandled snap at the Dallas 38 on the game's second play. The Cowboys extended the ensuing Charger drive with a penalty on a successful Richey field goal, and Flutie converted 3rd downs with completions to Dwight and Freddie Jones, the latter for a touchdown. After a Dallas three-and-out and a short punt, San Diego again took over in opposition territory, and Flutie again converted two 3rd downs, this time with completions to Graham, and Conway for the touchdown. McNeil intercepted Anthony Wright late in the 1st quarter and lateralled to Harrison, who ran the ball back to the Dallas 43; this time the Chargers added a field goal to lead 17–0 after three possessions each. The Charger defense were beaten by a deep pass on the game's following play, Rocket Ismail catching Wright's pass at the San Diego 25 en route to an 80-yard touchdown. San Diego almost returned the favor later in the half – on 3rd and 4 at the Charger 15, Dwight caught Flutie's pass over the middle at the Dallas 45 and reached the 7 yard line before being tackled for a gain of 78. The Chargers had to settle for another field goal, and Dallas pulled back within six points on their following drive.
Graham gained 34 yards on a flea-flicker on the opening play of the second half, but Tomlinson lost a fumble the play after. The Cowboys were forced to punt, and San Diego drove for another touchdown, Dwight taking an end-around to the left and dodging between tacklers near the sideline before completing a 16-yard touchdown. Conway's 36-yard catch was the biggest play on the drive for Richey's third field goal, after which Wright threw his third touchdown with nine minutes to play. Leading by eight points, San Diego then took six minutes off the clock, but Richey was wide right from 43 yards with a chance to make the game safe. Dallas advanced to their own 43 before McNeil made his second interception of the game and returned the ball 33 yards to the Dallas 34. San Diego had one more scare when Tomlinson fumbled again, but Kendyl Jacox recovered, and Richey hit the clinching field goal soon afterwards.
San Diego dominated several statistical categories, with 475 offensive yards to 289, 5 takeaways to 1, and 26 first downs to 14. Their time of possession was a second short of 38 minutes. The 475 yards of offense were the highest for San Diego since 1986.
Week 3: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
McNeil intercepted Jon Kitna late in the 1st quarter, leading to a Richey field goal that was wide left from 38 yards. Seau produced another interception two plays later, this time leading to a touchdown; Flutie enjoyed excellent protection before finding Conway ahead of his markers in the end zone. Cincinnati levelled the score shortly before halftime with Chad Johnson's first career touchdown catch.
After both teams punted on their first possession of the second half, Graham got the Chargers over midfield with a 28-yard catch on 3rd and 7, leading to Tomlinson's first touchdown. Harrison forced a Corey Dillon fumble on the next play from scrimmage, with Rogers Beckett recovering. Tomlinson started the ensuing drive with back-to-back carries of 10 and 13 yards, and finished it by going around left end for another touchdown. Cincinnati went three-and-out, and Tomlinson had gains of 23, 19, 4 and 3 yards, the last of these for his third touchdown in as many possessions. The Bengals were able to recover an onside kick after their late touchdown, but McNeil intercepted Kitna again on the next play.