1994 San Diego Chargers season

The 1994 San Diego Chargers season was the team's 35th, its 25th in the National Football League (NFL), and its 34th in San Diego.

1994 San Diego Chargers season
Head coachBobby Ross
General managerBobby Beathard
OwnerAlex Spanos
Home fieldJack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(Dolphins) 22–21
Won Conference Championship
(Steelers) 17–13
Lost Super Bowl XXIX (49ers) 26–49
Pro BowlersK John Carney RB Natrone Means LB Junior Seau DE Leslie O'Neal

The 1994 season began with the team trying to improve on their 8–8 record in 1993. They finished the season with an 11–5 record and were crowned AFC West Champions. After a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, they would advance to Super Bowl XXIX, only to lose to the San Francisco 49ers 49–26 at Joe Robbie Stadium. To date, this is the Chargers' most recent, and only, Super Bowl appearance.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1994 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 43 Isaac Davis  Guard Arkansas
2 63 Vaughn Parker  Offensive tackle UCLA
3 70 Andre Coleman  Wide receiver Kansas State
3 82 Willie Clark  Cornerback Notre Dame
5 137 Aaron Laing  Tight end New Mexico State
5 145 Rodney Harrison *  Safety Western Illinois
5 150 Darren Krein  Defensive end Miami (FL)
5 160 Tony Vinson  Running back Towson
7 207 Zane Beehn  Linebacker Kentucky
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Undrafted free agents

1994 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
David Binn Long snapper California
Jeff Brohm Quarterback Louisville
Greg Engel Center Illinois
Mike Hollis Kicker Idaho

Personnel

Staff

1994 San Diego Chargers staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – John Dunn
  • Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Chip Morton

Roster

1994 San Diego Chargers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 5 inactive, 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Location Record TV Time(PT) Announcing Team
1 September 4, 1994 at Denver Broncos W 37–34
74,032
Mile High Stadium 1–0 TNT 5:00pm Gary Bender & Pat Haden
2 September 11, 1994 Cincinnati Bengals W 27–10
53,217
Jack Murphy Stadium 2–0 NBC 1:00pm Dan Hicks & Bob Golic
3 September 18, 1994 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–10
65,536
Husky Stadium 3–0 NBC 1:00pm Jim Lampley & Todd Christensen
4 September 25, 1994 at Los Angeles Raiders W 26–24
55,385
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 4–0 NBC 1:00pm Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
5 Bye
6 October 9, 1994 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–6
62,923
Jack Murphy Stadium 5–0 NBC 1:00pm Charlie Jones & Randy Cross
7 October 16, 1994 at New Orleans Saints W 36–22
50,565
Louisiana Superdome 6–0 NBC 1:00pm Marv Albert & Paul Maguire
8 October 23, 1994 Denver Broncos L 15–20
61,626
Jack Murphy Stadium 6–1 NBC 1:00pm Charlie Jones & Randy Cross
9 October 30, 1994 Seattle Seahawks W 35–15
59,001
Jack Murphy Stadium 7–1 NBC 1:00pm Tom Hammond & Cris Collinsworth
10 November 6, 1994 at Atlanta Falcons L 9–10
59,217
Georgia Dome 7–2 NBC 10:00am Marv Albert & Paul Maguire
11 November 13, 1994 at Kansas City Chiefs W 14–13
76,997
Arrowhead Stadium 8–2 NBC 10:00am Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
12 November 20, 1994 at New England Patriots L 17–23
59,690
Foxboro Stadium 8–3 NBC 10:00am Don Criqui & Beasley Reece
13 November 27, 1994 Los Angeles Rams W 31–17
59,579
Jack Murphy Stadium 9–3 FOX 1:00pm Dick Stockton & Matt Millen
14 December 5, 1994 Los Angeles Raiders L 17–24
63,012
Jack Murphy Stadium 9–4 ABC 6:00pm Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf
15 December 11, 1994 San Francisco 49ers L 15–38
62,105
Jack Murphy Stadium 9–5 FOX 1:00pm Pat Summerall & John Madden
16 December 18, 1994 at New York Jets W 21–6
48,213
Giants Stadium 10–5 NBC 10:00am Tom Hammond & Cris Collinsworth
17 December 24, 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers W 37–34
58,379
Jack Murphy Stadium 11–5 NBC 1:00pm Jim Lampley & Todd Christensen

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Chargers 6 2137 37
Broncos 17 737 34
  • Date: September 4
  • Location: Mile High Stadium
  • Game start: 5:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear; 72 °F (22.2 °C)
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • Television network: TNT

Week 2

1 234Total
Bengals 3 007 10
Chargers 3 1077 27
  • Date: September 11
  • Location: Qualcomm Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear; 69 °F (20.6 °C); wind 8
  • Referee: Howard Roe
  • Television network: NBC

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) San Diego Chargers 11 5 0 .688 381 306 W2
(6) Kansas City Chiefs 9 7 0 .563 319 298 W2
Los Angeles Raiders 9 7 0 .563 303 327 L1
Denver Broncos 7 9 0 .438 347 396 L3
Seattle Seahawks 6 10 0 .375 287 323 L2

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time(PT) TV Announcers Attendance Location
Division January 8, 1995 Miami Dolphins W 22–21 NBC 1:00pm Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
63,381
Jack Murphy Stadium
Conference Championship January 15, 1995 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–13 NBC 9:30am Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
61,545
Three Rivers Stadium
Super Bowl January 29, 1995 San Francisco 49ers L 26–49 ABC 3:00pm Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf
74,107
Joe Robbie Stadium

Game Summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: Dolphins vs Chargers

Game summary
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 7 14 0021
Chargers 0 6 9722

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California

The Chargers overcame a 21–6 halftime deficit by limiting the Dolphins offense to only 16 plays in the second half.

AFC Championship Game: Chargers at Steelers

Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 3 7717
Steelers 7 3 3013

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), fog with heavy rain
  • Game attendance: 61,545
  • Referee: Gerald Austin
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg (play-by-play) and Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

With the upset win over the Steelers, the Chargers go to their first Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XXIX: Chargers vs 49ers

Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 3 8826
49ers 14 14 14749

at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida

Deaths of players

The 1994 Chargers are also remembered for tragedy in the form of numerous untimely deaths, as eight of the players from that 1994 squad have died prematurely since that time, all by the age of 44. It is part of a supposed locally infamous curse in the San Diego area, involving its sports teams.

  • June 19, 1995 – Linebacker David Griggs died in a car accident when his vehicle slid off a ramp on Florida's Turnpike, linking to three roads just west of Fort Lauderdale and subsequently slammed into a pole, he was 28 years old.[2]
  • May 11, 1996 – Running back Rodney Culver and his wife Karen were among the 110 people (105 passengers, 5 crew members) aboard ValuJet Flight 592 when it crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing everyone aboard. He was 26 years old.[3]
  • July 21, 1998 – Linebacker Doug Miller died after being struck twice by lightning during a thunderstorm while camping in Colorado. He was 29 years old.[4]
  • May 11, 2008 – Center Curtis Whitley died of a drug overdose. His body was discovered by sheriff deputies in his trailer home in Fort Stockton, Texas, just one day after his 39th birthday. One of the drugs he was known to use was Crystal methamphetamine.[5]
  • October 15, 2008 – Defensive end Chris Mims was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment by police officers conducting a welfare check. The most likely cause of death was cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart since he weighed 456 pounds or 207 kilograms when he died. He was 38 years old.[6][7]
  • February 26, 2011 – Defensive tackle Shawn Lee died from a cardiac arrest resulting from double pneumonia. Lee had been suffering from diabetes for years prior to his death. He was 44 years old.[8]
  • December 8, 2011 – Linebacker Lewis Bush died from an apparent heart attack, just six days after his 42nd birthday.[9]
  • May 2, 2012 – Linebacker Junior Seau died in his home in Oceanside, California. Seau was discovered already lifeless by his girlfriend. His death was likely a suicide since a self-inflicted gunshot wound was apparent to the chest. He was 43 years old.[10]

References

  1. "1994 San Diego Chargers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  2. David Griggs; Football Player, 28 – published by The New York Times on June 21, 1995.
  3. ON PRO FOOTBALL; Questions With Few Answers in Culver's Death – published by Thomas George for The New York Times on May 26, 1996.
  4. Doug Miller, LB at NFL.com
  5. Former center Whitley found dead in his Texas trailer home – NFL – ESPN – published on May 14, 2008.
  6. Chris Mims Obituary – published by U-T San Diego.
  7. Chris Mims | Former Charger Mims dead at 38 – published by Sam Farmer for the Los Angeles Times on October 16, 2008.
  8. Former Chargers DL Shawn Lee dead at 44 | UTSanDiego.com – published by Chris Jenkins for U-T San Diego on February 28, 2011.
  9. Ex-Washington High, WSU great Bush dies | NFL – The News Tribune Archived September 13, 2012, at Archive.today – published by The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington on December 9, 2011.
  10. Junior Seau, Famed N.F.L. Linebacker , Dies at 43 – Suicide is Suspected – NYTimes.com – published by Greg Bishop and Rob Davis for The New York Times on May 2, 2012.
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