The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 21

PORTS San Diego County Monday, November 3, Cos Angeles Sunes CCtPart III 1 Jefferson QTPnoc i mil 51 to Bengals a I SU3 if i i i ii HHHMinMMMMPMMI -5 I rS i jrV'v -vi UT s5 5 His 2 Touchdowns in Third Quarter Leada31-14Win By DAVE DISTEL Times Staff Writer CINCINNATI-John Jefferson was somewhat of a forgotten man in the Chargers' 31-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, forgotten at first by his own team and ultimately by the opposition. Jefferson was not much of a factor as the Chargers moved to a 17-7 halftime lead, but he caught two touchdown passes in the third quarter to put the game away. Both catches were worthy of note. The first was one of those one-handed grabs that drew a gasp from the crowd and a look of amazement from defensive back Ray Griffin. On the second, no one covered Jefferson at all, and he was so open he was actually afraid he might drop it.

Fat chance. Thus, the Chargers were able to start the second half of the season on a winning note and improve their record to 6-3, maintaining their tie with Oakland for first in the AFC West. Error-Free, for a Change After losing three of their previous four games while plagued with turnovers, the Chargers played error-free football this time to win in an almost routine fashion. With receivers Jefferson" and Charlie Joiner drawing double coverage, quarterback Dan Fouts built the early lead with passes to his tight ends, especially Kellen Winslow, and to his running backs. He stuck to a rather controlled passing attack and completed 22 of 41 for 270 yards.

Winslow caught nine passes for 153 yards. Cincinnati, meanwhile, labored against the Charger defense until it Booker Russell (41) and Mike Williams of Chargers follow the bouncing ball after Bengal punt was blocked in first quarter Sunday in Thompson Gets 31 and Lakers Lose, 123-121 Kings and Rookie Leave New York in Awe, 6-3 Murphy Scores a Pair of Goals as Streaking LA. Takes a Second Bite of the Big Apple York Islanders and Rangers. "It's like riding a roller-coaster," said Dave Lewis, Murphy's defensive partner and tutor. "We can't do anything wrong." Everything certainly went right for Billy Harris, who matched Murphy's two goals by scoring with one second left in the second period when Ranger defenseman Barry Beck's blind pass came right to him behind the New York net and getting another goal when the puck bounced to him off Phil Esposito's skate.

It is precisely because the Kings have taken advantage of such opportunities that they are 9-1-1, 3-1-1 away from home, and unbeaten (8-0-1 in their last nine games. "We're really coming together as team," said goalie Ron Grahame, Please see KINGS, Page 10 By SCOTT OSTLER Times Staff Writer At 261 David Thompson is making a comeback from an injury, from a bad season, from a general deterioration of his game that some people thought to be irreversible. Sunday night at the Forum his comeback was in full stride. He scored 31 points, 24 in the second half, and had six assists as his Denver Nuggets beat the Lakers, 123-121. Thompson scored the last four points of the game on a short-range jump shot with 33 seconds remaining and on two free throws after Mike Cooper fouled him in the corner with two seconds left.

He made the game -deciding free throws shortly after the Lakers' Jim Chones had missed a pair. It was only the Nuggets' fourth win of the season, but, like Thompson, they seem to be on the rise. The previous night they beat Seattle as Thompson scored 43 points. Wilkes Fouls Out Thompson had lots of help Sunday. Alex English, one of the game's underrated forwards, scored 29 points and had 14 rebounds.

Center Dan Issel scored 25. Jamaal Wilkes, who scored 26 for the Lakers on ll-for-17 shooting, fouled out late in the game, as did Cooper, with those two seconds left. The Lakers spent most of the night in foul trouble. Please see LAKERS, Page 10 White's 4th Down TD Pass Overturns the Cards, 27-24 i fn Louie Kelcher overpowers Bengal pass attempt that resulted in five-yard Anociated Press Cincinnati. San Diego recovered.

Associated Press quarterback Ken Anderson on loss in 31-14 Charger win. Ferragamo behind only his pass-happy contemporary from San Diego and the other (AFC) conference, Dan Fouts. Fouts has 22. Ferragamo still has something neither Fouts nor any other NFL quarterback has the league's passing leadership. His rating shot up Sunday, to 104.1.

No one else is While Ferragamo was having a field day against the NFL's worst defense and worst team, the luckless, hapless, Saints, two prominent Rams who've been missing lately provided much of the suspense, if you could call it that. And all of the pathos. First, Wendell Tyler made his first appearance since last January's Super Bowl and gained five yards on two carries playing half a quarter as the starting halfback. Tyler, a runner last season, dislocated a hip in a July 4 auto accident and recuperated slowly and carefully. He tested the hip Sunday and the hip passed.

For Haden, Cheers Boos Then Pat Haden, the Rams' No. 1 quarterback until he broke a bone in his passing hand in the season opener, relieved Ferragamo late in the third quarter and promply fumbled when sacked. Worse for Haden, the fumble flew into the arms of Saints lineman Don Reese, who ran 34 yards for a touchdown. Please see RAMS, Page 6 Ferragamo: 5 Scoring Passes in 45-31 Win Wise Wins at Carlsbad in Superbikers Event Story on Page 12 was hopelessly behind. As the Bengals were trying to rally, Pete Shaw intercepted three passes to keep them at bay.

And the Charger special teams, maligned a bit of late, got the afternoon rolling with a blocked punt at the end of Cincinnati's first possession. Woodrow Lowe made the block and it took the Chargers only two plays to go 13 yards to the game's first touchdown, Mike Thomas scoring from the seven behind a Winslow block. "We had to have this one to get our momentum going for the second half of the season," Shaw said. "We've got to do it ourselves. We feel we have to win eight straight." That would seem a bit much to ask.

"We don't think there are any teams better than us," Shaw said. "Why not feel we can win them all?" What a Difference a Week Makes Recent events, Sunday afternoon excepted, would seem to present cause for argument with Shaw. Only a week ago, in fact, the Chargers blew a 10-point halftime lead against Dallas en route to a 42-31 loss. Cincinnati is not, of course, Dallas, and the Chargers were not about to let this one slip away. Enter Mr.

Jefferson. He caught only one pass in the first half, a 14-yarder that helped set up an 11-yard Fouts-to-Winslow touchdown pass for a 17-0 lead. That was it for Jefferson in the first half. Joiner did not catch a pass. "I was drawing single coverage," Winslow said, "so we were taking what they were giving us." "Giving" Fouts a target like the 6-6, 250-pound Winslow was like handing a microphone to a politician.

He would take Winslow as long as the Bengals would let him have him. Please see CHARGERS, Page 7 Pro Football San Diego 31, Cincinnati 14 Los Angeles 45, New Orleans 31 Atlanta 30, Buffalo 14 Baltimore 31, Kansas City 24 Pittsburgh 22, Green Bay 20 Tampa Bay 30, NY Giants 13 Detroit 17, San Francisco 13 Dallas 27, St. Louis 24 Houston 20, Denver 16 Oakland 16, Miami 10 Minnesota 39, Washington 14 New England 34, NY Jets 21 Philadelphia 27, Seattle 20 By GORDON EDES, Times Staff Writer NEW YORK-Larry Murphy was a bit awed by his first visit to Madison Square Garden Sunday night. "The thing that really impressed me the most," he said, "was that we had to take an elevator to the dressing room." But try telling the New York Rangers that Murphy didn't act right at home once he got off the elevator and onto the ice. He scored a goal practically the first time he touched the puck, added another before the first period was over, and played his usual "This Can't Be a Rookie" defensive game in the Kings' 6-3 win.

And try telling the Kings that they can't win on the road, against teams they haven't beaten in two years, after this weekend whirl that has produced wins over the New Norm Nixon 1 0) of the Lakers gets the Denver Nuggets, but he also a By TED GREEN, Times Staff Writer Custer at Little Big Horn had a better chance than the New Orleans Saints did at Anaheim Stadium. He also put up a better fight, at least at the start. With Vince Ferragamo throwing four touchdown passes in the first 22 minutes, the Rams led, 31-0. Then compassion or boredom or something set in and the Rams had to fight a little harder than they wanted to beat pro football's only winless team, 45-31. Some Saintly Intervention Ferragamo threw a fifth touchdown pass in the second half to tie a single-game Ram record and join some exclusive company; Bob Waterfield, Norm Van Brocklin and Roman Gabriel previously shared the record.

Ferragamo's 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th touchdown passes came on plays that covered 38, 9, 59, 7 and 19 yards. The first two were to Billy Waddy, the next to Elvis Peacock and one to Willie Miller, all in the first half. The last was to Jeff Moore in the third quarter. The 0-9 Saints, who know how to beat themselves, too, set up two of those Ram touchdowns with fumbles and a third by failing to recover a Ram fumble. The Rams' sixth and last touchdown came in the final six minutes on a three-yard run by rookie Mike Guman.

The 19 touchdown passes put ST. LOUIS OB-On a fourth-down play, Danny White lofted a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tony Hill in the corner of the end zone with 45 seconds left in the game to give the Dallas Cowboys a 27-24 win over the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. White's touchdown pass capped a six-play, 69-yard Dallas drive in which Dallas overcame a holding penalty when White passed to Drew Pearson for a 15-yard gain. Thurmond Scores TD St.

Louis (3-6), losing to the Cowboys (7-2) a fifth straight time, led, 24-20, with 9:03 left after Jim Hart teamed up with Mel Gray on a 34-yard touchdown pass. Earlier, the Cowboys went in front, 20-17, when former Trojan Dennis Thurman intercepted a deflected Hart pass and ran 78 yards to his first NFL touchdown. Hart offset that by driving his team 93 yards for the go-ahead score, keeping the march alive by hooking up with Pat Tilley for a 46-yard gain. Please see COWBOYS, Page 8 CON KEYES Lo Angeles Timet a dirty look from Ken Higgs 1 of gets two points Sunday night..