1980 San Diego Chargers season

Four touchdown passes from Dan Fouts saw the Chargers to an easy win on opening day. It was 3-3 early in the 2nd quarter when Woodrow Lowe sparked San Diego with a blocked punt, setting them up at the Seattle five yard line. Fouts found Greg McCrary three plays later for the opening touchdown. On the next two Chargers possessions, Joiner and Jefferson got on the scoresheet, and the lead was 24-3 at halftime.

Pete Shaw's interception set up another Jefferson touchdown as San Diego eased to victory in the second half. The receiver caught 6 passes for 103 yards and 2 TDs.

Tight end Kellen Winslow had a breakout performance as the Chargers edged an overtime epic. Oakland attempted field goals on their first three possessions, but Chris Bahr only converted one of them, while Rolf Benirschke made a club-record 52-yarder; it was 3-3 midway through the 2nd quarter. Clarence Williams then lost a fumble in his own territory, but Bob Horn pounced on a mishandled snap a play later to win possession back. Following this reprieve, the Chargers drove 63 yards, Jefferson scoring with 48 seconds left in the half. That proved to be enough time for the Raiders, who moved from their own 18 to the Charger 48, from where Dan Pastorini found Cliff Branch for a game-tying touchdown with 6 seconds on the clock.

Fouts gave an error-strewn performance during the 3rd quarter. He lost a fumble, which was run back for a Raider touchdown, and threw four interceptions, three in Oakland territory to end scoring chances, and a fourth which set up a field goal try for Bahr. This kick was no good from 53 yards, and the Chargers drove 56 yards in 5 plays to tie the game, Winslow scoring from 25 yards out. Oakland responded quickly, reaching a 1st and 10 at the Charger 19 before Glen Edwards intercepted Pastorini. San Diego made the most of the reprieve, going 80 yards in 12 plays, including a 22-yard completion from Fouts to Winslow and a 4-yard touchdown run from Williams with 2:00 on the clock.

Trailing 24-17, Oakland reached a 1st and 10 from the San Diego 16, from where Pastorini threw two incompletions before Gary Johnson sacked him for a loss of 7 and temporarily knocked him out of the game. Backup Jim Plunkett was then sacked by Johnson on 4th down, but the apparent game-clinching play was ruled out by penalty, and Plunkett threw the game-tying touchdown a play later. With 33 seconds on the clock, there was still time for Fouts to connect on three straight passes, giving Benirschke a chance to win the game from 51 yards out. The kick came up short and right, sending the game into overtime.

Oakland won the toss. Pastorini returned, but was intercepted again by Edwards on the first play of the extra period. Fouts, however then threw his fifth pick of the game, giving the Raiders a golden chance at the San Diego 46. They drove as far as the 32, from where Bahr tried a 50-yard game-winner. Mike Williams partially blocked the kick, giving Bahr his fourth miss of the game. Fouts connected with Joiner for 28 yards on the next drive, and the Chargers reached a 3rd and 11 at the Raider 24. Fouts then lofted a high pass to Jefferson just short of the end. The receiver leapt to make the catch, fell at the one-yard line and rolled over the goalline untouched for the winner, 8:09 into overtime.

Fouts had an eventful day, completing 29 of 44 for a club-record 387 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Winslow had 9 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown; Jefferson had 9 for 110 yards and two scores. San Diego won despite losing the turnover battle 7-4. To date, this is the last win by a Chargers team over an eventual Super Bowl champion.

For the second straight week, San Diego played in a turnover-riddled game - this time, they won that battle 7-3, and had the game safe with time to spare. On the opening possession, Benirschke broke the Charger record for longest field goal for the second consecutive week, this time converting from 53 yards out. After Denver tied the scores, a 41-yard connection between Fouts and Winslow had San Diego back in Bronco territory, but Fouts was intercepted. Fred Dean won possession back when he recovered an errant snap, and John Cappelletti scored his first Charger touchdown at the end of a 48-yard drive.

Another Fouts interception led to a Denver field goal, but the tables soon turned. First, Woodrow Lowe intercepted Matt Robinson, and ran the ball back 28 yards to the Denver 22. Fouts found Joiner in the end zone on the very next play. Denver then reached the Charger 45, but a Gary Johnson sack pushed them back 9 yards, and Edwards picked off a Robinson pass two plays later, returning it 68 yards for a touchdown. Benirschke added another field goal before halftime, pushing the lead to 27-6. Denver's attempts to come back in the second half were foiled by a further four interceptions.

Edwards had two of the Chargers' total of six interceptions. Johnson had four sacks in the first half alone, and the team finished with six.

Turnovers were again the key, as San Diego defeated the winless Chiefs. After five punts to start the game, Louie Kelcher recovered a fumble at the Kansas City 3, and Cappelletti scored on the next play. The Chiefs went 80 yards to tie the scores, but Kellen Winslow scored on consecutive drives to break the game open: his first touchdown was set up by Hal Stringert's fumble recovery, the second by Jefferson's 42-yard reception. Benirschke completed the scoring early in the 3rd quarter, following a Kelcher interception.

After completing a clean sweep of AFC West opponents in the first four weeks, San Diego were now two games clear in the division.

A 4th quarter collapse cost San Diego in the battle of the last two unbeaten AFC teams. They had capitalised on short fields in taking a 14-3 lead early in the 2nd quarter. First, Lowe forced Bills' running back Joe Cribbs to fumble, with Willie Buchanon recovering at the Buffalo 44 - that led to Winslow's touchdown catch on 3rd and goal from the 4. Then Buchanan pressured Buffalo's punter, forcing him to run; he was stopped well short of a first down, and San Diego took over at the Buffalo 29. That led to a 5-yard Jefferson touchdown, again on 3rd and goal. The Bills responded with a field goal, then blocked a punt by Rick Partridge and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. A Benirschke field goal made it 17-13 at the break.

Mike Williams blocked a punt at the start of the second half, but the Chargers came up empty handed after Benirschke missed from 31 yards out. However, Clarence Williams scored from the 4 on their next drive, and the lead was 24-12. Buffalo gambled on 4th and 1 from the Charger 10 early in the 4th quarter, but Cribbs was stuffed for no gain. However, there was yet another problem punt soon afterwards, Partridge struggling to field a high snap and getting tackled well behind the line. That set of a Bills touchdown on 4th and 3 from the 9. On the next play from scrimmage, Fouts was intercepted, and Cribbs scored the winner five plays later. These two Buffalo scores came 3:15 apart, after drives covering 16 and 21 yards.

San Diego looked to respond quickly, but Winslow fumbled after what would have been a first down reception at the Bill 25. Buffalo then picked up three first downs to run out the final 4:38 from the clock.

• The San Diego Chargers became the first team in NFL history to have three of its receivers with over 1,000 receiving yards.