behind that eventually fell short; Oakland won 34–27, and went on to triumph in Super Bowl XV. Fouts finished the game having completed 22 of 45 passes for 336 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. 1981 season While San Diego won their third consecutive division title in 1981, they had to contend with early-season unrest, with both Jefferson and key defensive end Fred Dean holding out for better pay. Both players were traded early in the season, to the disapproval of numerous other Chargers. Jefferson's replacement, Wes Chandler, had made one Pro Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, and would go on to make three more with the Chargers. Without Dean, the defense slipped from 6th to 27th in the 28-team league, leaving Fouts and the offense as the unit more likely to lead San Diego to victories. Fouts began the season by posting a near-perfect passer rating of 157.1, completing 19 of 25 for 330 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in an easy 44–14 win over Cleveland. The Chargers reached a 6–3 record before back to back one-sided defeats left them two games off the division lead. In Week 12, the Chargers went to Oakland and beat the defending Super Bowl champions 55–21. Fouts threw touchdown passes on six consecutive drives, including four to Winslow in a ten minute-period sandwiching halftime. The six touchdown passes were the most of Fouts's career, and remain a Chargers record . The win was the first of four over the final five weeks of the regular season, as the Chargers recovered to take the division title on tiebreakers over Denver, with a 10–6 record. Fouts was consistent, passing for between 252 and 352 yards in every regular season game bar the finale. With 4,802 yards (nearly 900 yards ahead of his nearest rival), he broke the single-season record for the 3rd consecutive season, as well as breaking the records for yards per game (300.1), attempts (609) and completions (360) for the second time. He posted the best touchdown to interception ratio of his career (33–17), led the league in touchdown passes for the first time, and made his third Pro Bowl. At this point, Fouts was responsible for over half of the five 4,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history, posting his third in a row. Fouts again had three 1,000-yard receivers, with Joiner, Chandler (including his yards with the Saints before he