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  Sunday, Oct. 10 1:00pm ET
Ross' old team beats his new one
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- Junior Seau loves Bobby Ross. Still, he was happy to send his former coach home a loser Sunday.

Seau led a San Diego defense that shut Detroit out in the second half, and Darryll Lewis returned a fumble 42 yards in the fourth quarter to lead the Chargers to a 20-10 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Terrell Fletcher
Chargers running back Terrell Fletcher is tackled by Lions safety Mark Carrier after a 24-yard gain to the Detroit 1.

"Bobby Ross and I have a great tie and we had a lot of great games together," said Seau, who made 12 tackles and had two of San Diego's six sacks.

This was the first meeting between Ross and the Chargers since he was forced to resign from San Diego nearly three years ago.

"It was a weird feeling seeing him and his staff," Seau said.

Ross appeared to have the game under control when his Lions built a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter. But it was all San Diego after that.

"We went out there and played a great game," Seau said. "Against adverse conditions, we went out there and stuck it in there. We had to wait a while for our offense to get going."

Neither offense was electrifying. The Chargers rolled up only 256 yards and Detroit just 229. But the Chargers (3-1) got enough plays to win.

"He's a great football player, we all knew that," Ross said of Seau. "That team led the league in defense last year, and they are up there again this season."

Tremayne Stephens, one of three backs filling in for injured Chargers running back Natrone Means, tied it 10-10 on a 3-yard run with 42 seconds left in the half.

John Carney, who kicked a 33-yard field goal early in the second quarter, gave San Diego a 13-10 lead with a 24-yarder in the third.

Carney missed a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter, giving the Lions the ball at their own 38. But three snaps later, Cory Schlesinger was hit by Rodney Harrison and fumbled on a sweep pitch. The ball was picked up by Lewis who scampered down the San Diego sideline for the score with 7:52 left in the game.

GAME NOTES
Detroit's battered defense got more bad news. Starting middle linebacker Stephen Boyd left the game with a strained arch, and defensive tackle Luther Elliss strained his groin. Backup linebacker Andre Collins sprained an ankle in the game.
San Diego wide receiver Jeff Graham left the game with a sprained ankle.
John Carney had made nine straight field goals, dating back to last season, before missing a 48-yarder in the second half.
Darryll Lewis' fumble-return touchdown was his second score of the season. He returned a blocked punt for a touchdown on Sept. 26 against the Colts.
San Diego, which entered Sunday's game with a plus-seven turnover margin, best in the NFL, forced three turnovers against Detroit while committing only one.

Brock Olivo, who was supposed to block Harrison, took blame for the play.

"I took the wrong angle on Harrison," the dejected Olivo said. "It's the worst feeling you can have on a football field. It's like your house burning because you left the gas on, and you come home and there's nothing you can do."

For the game, Detroit (2-2) ran the sweep pitch four times for minus-4 yards and two fumbles, both of which the Lions lost.

Charlie Batch, who was sacked six times for losses totaling 38 yards by the fierce San Diego rush, was never able to mount a serious threat the rest of the way. Batch was 21-of-38 for 230 yards with one interception and one touchdown, a 41-yard strike to Germane Crowell.

Former Lions quarterback Erik Kramer, playing in place of injured Jim Harbaugh, was unspectacular. But he was good when it counted, helping the Chargers finish 7-of-15 on third-down conversions. Kramer was 20-of-34 for 208 yards with one interception.

On Detroit's second snap of the third quarter, Tracy Simien picked off a pass from Batch, giving San Diego a first down at the Lions 13. Four snaps later, Carney gave the Chargers their first lead at 13-10.

Detroit picked off a Kramer pass midway through the third quarter, taking over at its own 48. But the Lions failed to keep the drive alive on a fourth-and-1 at the San Diego 31.

Batch hit Crowell in stride over Lewis and Michael Dumas for Detroit's only touchdown and a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

After a 33-yard field goal by Carney, Batch helped drive Detroit to the San Diego 4 in the second quarter. But the Lions squandered the opportunity, settling four snaps later for a 23-yard field goal by Jason Hanson.

The Chargers made Detroit pay.

With Harbaugh warming up on the sideline, Kramer went 4-of-5 for 68 yards during an 80-yard, 11-play drive that ended with Stephens scoring.

Ross, who replaced Wayne Fontes on Jan. 13, 1997, spent the previous five seasons as coach of the Chargers. He led San Diego to a record of 50-36, three playoff appearances, two AFC West titles and the club's first AFC championship.

He hasn't fared that well with Detroit. The Lions went 9-7 in 1997, losing in the first round of the playoffs. Detroit was 5-11 last season.

But so was San Diego. 		 


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