While the Los Angeles Chargers franchise has certainly seen its fair share of weird and wild moments over the years, one would be hard-pressed to find one that fits the bill more than the "Holy Roller," which not only led to one of the most successful eras in Bolts history but also changed the NFL forever.
For those unfamiliar, the "Holy Roller" was a play that occurred in the waning seconds of an early-season matchup between the then-San Diego Chargers and the then-Oakland Raiders on September 10, 1978, at the old San Diego Stadium, which was later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium. Yeah, this is a very old-school kind of a thing here.
With 10 seconds remaining in this Week 2 contest, the Chargers, coached by Tommy Prothro, held a 20-14 advantage, but John Madden's Raiders had driven down to the Bolts' 14-yard line, thus giving themselves a chance to steal the victory.
Needing a touchdown to at least tie, Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler took the snap and dropped back to pass, but was nearly sacked by San Diego linebacker Woodrow Lowe. Knowing he was about to go down, Stabler flipped/fumbled the ball forward to—well, nobody—and watched it hit the ground, at which point Raiders running back Pete Banaszak basically batted it toward the goal line.
Oakland tight end Dave Casper then joined the party at the 5-yard line, kicking the still-unclaimed ball into the end zone, ultimately following it in and falling on it for a touchdown. Despite a massive protest from Prothro, the big argument being that Stabler's "fumble" should have been ruled a forward pass, referee Jerry Markbreit ruled the play to be legal. With no time left on the clock, Oakland kicker Errol Mann stepped in and drilled the extra-point attempt, thus giving the Raiders a 21-20 victory.
For years, Stabler denied that he flipped the ball forward, claiming that he did indeed fumble it. But he finally admitted the truth on the 30th anniversary of the play in 2008. Banaszak and Casper also admitted that they intentionally attempted to move the ball forward, which was actually legal back then.
But that changed pretty quickly. In the offseason that followed, the NFL implemented a rule change stating that after the two-minute warning, only the player who fumbled the ball could advance it, a rule that's still in place to this day. Obviously, had this existed in September 1978, the "Holy Roller" never happens.
The "Holy Roller" led to great things for the Chargers
But here's the thing. This weird moment actually ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Chargers.
With the loss to Oakland, San Diego dropped to 1-1 on the year. And after losses to the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers in the two weeks that followed, Prethro opted to resign, at which point former San Diego State and then-St. Louis Cardinals head coach Don Coryell was brought in as his replacement.
And that changed everything.
Instituting a pass-heavy attack with quarterback Dan Fouts that became known as the "Air Coryell" offense, the Bolts won eight of their final 12 games and just missed out on the postseason at 9-7. In the three years that followed, the Chargers won three consecutive AFC West titles and made two appearances in the AFC Championship Game, unfortunately losing both, one of those defeats coming to none other than the Raiders.
Nevertheless, the "Air Coryell" era was magnificent. For six consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1983, the Bolts led the league in passing, setting a new league record, and did so again in 1985. Fouts also made some NFL history during that stretch, becoming the first quarterback ever to throw for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons (1979-1981).
Three-plus wide receiver sets and using tight ends against linebackers are commonplace today, but that was not the case before Coryell came to San Diego. Bill Walsh's West Coast offense with the 49ers and the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" typically get more credit for the NFL shifting from more of a running league to a passing league, but it was "Air Coryell" that truly revolutionized the game.
And if the "Holy Roller" hadn't happened, the world may have never seen it.