Justin Herbert and the 5 best quarterback seasons in Chargers history
By Jason Reed
Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 3. Dan Fouts, 1981
Dan Fouts was the greatest quarterback in franchise history and is the only quarterback in franchise history to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame… that is, until Rivers eventually gets in when he is eligible.
There are plenty of Fouts seasons to look at as he helped revolutionize the game of football alongside coach Don Coryell in the “Air Coryell” offense. This was an air-raid offense that is prominent in today’s game, but was unheard of 40 years ago.
The problem with Fouts is he threw the ball a lot and was not always all that efficient. Thus, it is hard to put a lot of his seasons on this list.
His 1981 season absolutely does belong on the list, though. Fouts set the single-season franchise record in passing yards in 1981, a record that still stands today. He finished the season with 4,802 yards and 33 touchdowns, the second-most in franchise history.
However, as mentioned, he threw the ball a lot. Fouts attempted 609 passes, the second most behind Philip Rivers in 2015 (which is not on the list).
The 1981 Chargers went 10-6 and made it to the AFC Championship Game, albeit they were blown out with the Cincinnati Bengals. So he had a winning record, has the passing yards record and is second in touchdowns — why does this Fouts season rank third?
The simple answer is that Fouts inefficiency. Fouts had only a 59.11 completion percentage and threw 17 picks.