1988 San Diego Chargers season

1988 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Alex Spanos
General manager	Steve Ortmayer
Head coach	Al Saunders
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1988 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 8–7 record in 1987. It was Al Saunders's final season as the team's head coach.

Before the season, the Chargers made modifications to their uniforms, changing the color of the helmet and jersey from royal blue to a darker navy blue. They also switched the colors on the lightning bolt: it went from a yellow bolt with a white outline to a white bold with a yellow outline. The team's facemasks also changed from yellow to navy blue. They would keep this helmet and uniform through the 2006 season.

Personnel

Staff

1988 San Diego Chargers staff

Front office Chairman of the Board and President – Alex Spanos Director of Football Operations – Steve Ortmayer Director of Player Personnel – Chet Franklin Director of Pro Personnel – Rudy Feldman Head coaches Head Coach – Al Saunders Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Jerry Rhome Running Backs – Bobby Jackson Receivers – Charlie Joiner Tight Ends – Dave Levy Offensive Line – Jerry Wampfler

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ron Lynn Defensive Line – Gunther Cunningham Linebackers – Mike Haluchak Special teams coaches Special Teams – Wayne Sevier

Roster

1988 San Diego Chargers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Mark Vlasic Running backs (RB) 20 Barry Redden 43 Tim Spencer FB Wide receivers (WR) 86 Jamie Holland Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Ken Dallafior G 73 James Fitzpatrick G 68 Gary Kowalski G 74 Jim Lindsey T 60 Dennis McKnight G Defensive linemen (DL) 97 George Hinkle DE 91 Leslie O'Neal DE 75 Joe Phillips NT 99 Lee Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Gary Plummer ILB 54 Billy Ray Smith, Jr. OLB Defensive backs (DB) 44 Martin Bayless SS 22 Gill Byrd CB 25 Vencie Glenn FS 34 Elvis Patterson CB Special teams 2 Ralf Mojsiejenko P

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 24–13	39,029
2	September 11, 1988	at Denver Broncos	L 34–3	75,359
3	September 18, 1988	Seattle Seahawks	W 17–6	44,449
4	September 25, 1988	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–23	45,498
5	October 2, 1988	Denver Broncos	L 12–0	55,763
6	October 9, 1988	New Orleans Saints	L 23–17	42,693
7	October 16, 1988	at Miami Dolphins	L 31–28	58,972
8	October 23, 1988	Indianapolis Colts	L 16–0	37,722
9	October 30, 1988	at Seattle Seahawks	L 17–14	59,641
10	November 6, 1988	Los Angeles Raiders	L 13–3	55,134
11	November 13, 1988	at Atlanta Falcons	W 10–7	26,329
12	November 20, 1988	at Los Angeles Rams	W 38–24	45,462
13	November 27, 1988	San Francisco 49ers	L 48–10	51,484
14	December 4, 1988	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 27–10	56,866
15	December 11, 1988	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 20–14	33,816
16	December 18, 1988	Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–13	26,339

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Seattle Seahawks(3)	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	339	329	W2
Denver Broncos	8	8	0	.500	3–5	5–7	327	352	W1
Los Angeles Raiders	7	9	0	.438	6–2	6–6	325	369	L2
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	231	332	W2
Kansas City Chiefs	4	11	1	.281	2–6	4–9–1	254	320	L2