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SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The fourth quarter turned into a nightmare for Todd Peterson. Peterson missed three field goals in the final period, but John Carney converted on two, giving the San Diego Chargers a 19-16 victory over the reeling Seattle Seahawks. Peterson, who entered the game 22-of-25 in field goals, made his first three attempts today before matching that with three misses in the final 15 minutes. He came up short from 48 and 52 yards before missing the potential game-tying kick from 38 yards off the left upright with 75 seconds remaining. "I want to have a positive impact on the game," Peterson said. "I was basically saying to myself that I let my teammates down. I felt like I hit the ball, but obviously missed the kicks. It was critical game and we needed the win. We shot ourselves in the foot and I was a major factor in that." Seattle dropped its third straight game and fell into a first-place tie with Kansas City in the AFC West. Just three weeks ago, the Seahawks had a three-game lead. "We need someone to step up and make that play to give us an edge," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "Now it's a three-game season instead of a four-game season. As I told the team, the absolute worst thing that could happen is that we could be tied for first place in our division." Kansas City defeated Minnesota 31-28 on Sunday night to tie Seatte for the lead in the AFC West. Running back Ricky Watters, who had two key fumbles for the Seahawks in last week's loss to Oakland, again coughed up the ball at the wrong time. His second fumble of the game was recovered by rookie safety Jason Perry at the Chargers 26 with 5:24 remaining. The Chargers could not move the ball and had to settle for Carney's fourth field goal of the contest from 41 yards that gave them a 19-16 lead with 3:19 to play. He also kicked a 28-yard field goal early in the period that tied the score. "You try to prepare yourself for this every week that every game will come down to a field goal," said Carney, who kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired give the Chargers a 13-10 win over Seattle on October 10. "I do pay attention to the score. If we're up by three or down by three, it's always on your mind that it will come down to a kick." Holmgren was asked if Watters' fumble or the missed kicks were the difference in the game. "I can't judge what was more seroius at this point," he said "There are a lot of plays in a football game that determine the outcome. Ricky is not a fumbler. He touches the ball an awful lot and it doens't happen that often. Unfortunately, it happened today." San Diego swept two games from the Seahawks this season and have won consecutive games following a six-game losing streak. "We have a lot of resiliency. This team has never quit," said Chargers coach Mike Riley. "Now the difference is that we're just playing better and making some plays. I think that we overcame a lot today and we got a couple of breaks at the end, but they have to make the field goals." Following Carney's field goal that put the Chargers ahead, Seattle took over on the 16 with 3:19 remaining. Kitna completed 5-of-7 passes on the drive to put his club in position to send to tie the game, but Peterson could not convert. Kitna, who had been struggling, completed 25-of-40 passes for 285 yards with one touchdown and an interception. In his previous two games, he was intercepted seven times. Trailing 16-13 entering the fourth quarter, the Chargers got even on Carney's 28-yard field goal with 12:04 to play. Quarterback Jim Harbaugh had key completions of 12 yards to Jeff Graham and 13 yards to tight end Freddie Jones before he ran 16 yards to the Seattle 20. Harbaugh completed 20-of-35 passes for 229 yards with an interception. Graham was his favorite target, matching a career high with nine receptions for 114 yards. The Chargers received lift in the running game with the return of Natrone Means, who had missed the six previous games with a knee injury. He made his presence felt early with a one-yard TD run 3:58 into the contest that gave San Diego a 7-0 lead. Means carried 14 times for 42 yards. After that touchdown, a battle of field goals ensued with Peterson hitting from 28 and Carney answering with a 33-yarder, giving the Chargers a 10-3 lead through one quarter. Peterson connected from 40 and 33 yards in the second quarter around one from 42 yards by Carney. The Seahawks finally managed a touchdown and took a 16-10 lead 3:40 into the second half when Kitna hooked up with Derrick Mayes on a 14-yard scoring strike.
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