CHARGER REVIEW : NOTEBOOK : Grossman, Lewis Head List of Injured Players This Week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. â€”  Charger defensive end Burt Grossman injured an ankle and running back Eric Bieniemy was unable to play because of an ankle injury he sustained last week against the Colts.

Wide receiver Nate Lewis left the game with a hip injury, and Charger Coach Bobby Ross said, “the doctors are concerned about that injury being longer than a week (to treat).�

Ross said quarterback Stan Humphries injured his ankle on the final play of the game, but he said the injury was not serious.

Linebacker Junior Seau required help from equipment manager Sid Brooks to remove his shoulder pads after the game.

“My (right) arm is numb,� Seau said after injuring his elbow.

Lost in defeat was the spectacular play of running back Ronnie Harmon on third and 15 from the San Diego 15 in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers were leading, 14-13, and were in no position to turn it over to the Chiefs. Harmon accepted a short pass from Humphries, evaded as many as five tacklers and broke free from the line of scrimmage.

Harmon might have gone all the way, but teammate Harry Swayne got in his way and tripped him up after a 31-yard gain. The Chiefs would come on to win later, but tonight’s Charger Report after the 49ers-Falcons game is worth watching just for the opportunity to see that play again.

Charger tight end Derrick Walker caught a 14-yard pass for the team’s first touchdown, but Walker also dropped three passes, including a potential 25-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter.

Harmon, a prime contributor in the Chargers’ comeback, also dropped a pair of passes.

Lewis caught a 47-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, but the score was wiped out because of a holding penalty on tackle Broderick Thompson.

First play of the game and Marion Butts gets the ball and attempts to run right. Who was waiting there? Joe Phillips, formerly of the Chargers. No gain.

Phillips left the field after the Chiefs escaped with a 16-14 victory and continued to yell as he marched into the locker room.

Swayne was assigned to block Chief linebacker Derrick Thomas. It was a mismatch. Thomas had four sacks by halftime and also forced a pair of fumbles.

“I think that’s probably my best half of football,� Thomas said. “I made a vow to myself, I want to start playing like I was capable of playing. I spoke at a banquet (Saturday night) to some military people and I told them I was going to come out here and have a good game. I had to stand up to that.�

In the second half the Chargers made an adjustment. They kept Swayne on Thomas and also kept Harmon or Walker in reserve to double-block Thomas.

“He was extremely quick,� Swayne said. “Standing out there on an island with him one-on-one was extremely tough. He’s a great player and he did some great things, and we had to adjust to it.�

Thomas failed to get to Humphries in the second half, and the Charger offense managed to make it to the end zone on two occasions.

At the start of the fourth quarter the Chargers were milling around waiting for play to resume when all of a sudden Bieniemy was standing in their midst. Bieniemy was unable to play because of an ankle injury, but he ran out onto the field wearing a jacket and a stocking cap.

“I turned and was expecting him to hand me a towel or something,� Swayne said. “I had no idea why he was there, until he started to cheer for us. I couldn’t hear what he was saying because the crowd was so loud, so I just kept giving him high-fives.�

Chief starting cornerback Albert Lewis broke his arm after breaking up a pass intended for Charger wide receiver Nate Lewis. Kansas City tight end Mike Dyal also sustained a broken arm.

The Chargers travel to Cleveland this week to play the Browns (5-4).

“It’s gut-check time,� said Thompson. “We’ll see if this took some steam out of us.�

It must be something in the air. Last year the Chargers were penalized 11 times here for 96 yards. This year they were hit with nine penalties for 72 yards.

Kansas City Coach Marty Schottenheimer said he considered removing an ineffective Dave Krieg before deciding to stick with him.

“I felt like he’s the guy that had all the reps and he’s the guy that’s going to get the job done,� Schottenheimer said. “I told David on the sideline, ‘You’ve done it before and you’re capable of doing it again. You don’t have any choice. You’ve got to do it.’ �

And he did.