PARIS: Quite a kick in this Chargers' victory

The Chargers, though, had a secret weapon in Scifres, the cool Cajun from Destrehan, La.

"Mike is a football player,'' Rivers said. "You don't hear that much about a punter, but Mike's a football player. He just relaxed and went out there and kicked a huge field goal.''

Turner declined to trust Scifres on a 42-yarder in the first half, electing to play-on on fourth-and-20 at the Viking 25.

Not knowing what Scifres could do, Turner passed. But after seeing his work at halftime, Turner was on board.

The savvy Turner tried to get a peek at Scifres during a first-half timeout. When a fan was trying to kick field goals to win a TV and vacation in a promotional event, Turner thought, "He should go run out and try to kick a couple so we can see how it goes.''

That wouldn't have been within the NFL's rules, but rallying from a 17-7 deficit without a proven place kicker is as unorthodox as they come.

There was Scifres being pulled by giddy Chargers media officials after the game. There he was getting smothered by Rivers and Antonio Garay in making his way to the tunnel. There was Scifres, entering the locker room and waving to fans, many of them unaware how difficult it is for a punter to wear the place kicker's helmet.

"I think you go down the wrong road when you ask a guy to do that,'' said Turner, and they'll be a line of unemployed kickers at Chargers Park this morning. "The punters I've been around who've had to kick (often) end up with leg problems.''

A stumble Sunday would have shown the Chargers haven't overcome their false starts. But this September song ended on a happy note, with the most unlikely Charger giving it its final kick.

"I was thrown in there and had no choice,'' Scifres said.

Kind of like when Charlie Brown is lured into another place-kicking attempt, only to have Lucy pull back the ball yet again.

But Scifres was true, and, good grief the Chargers turned it into a victory.


