San Diego trailed Tennessee 17-3 going into the fourth today, and looked well on their way to yet another disappointing road loss. But then the Chargers, a team that's tended to go belly-up after falling behind this year, decided to show a little gumption. Philip Rivers, who'd struggled for much of the game, started throwing it all over the place, leading San Diego to a pair of final-period TDs and a tie score at the end of regulation. Then in overtime it was LaDanian Tomlinson's turn. On the second San Diego possession, Tomlinson ran it in from 16 yards out to give his team a hard-fought 23-17 victory, putting them on the precipice of clinching the AFC West.
Tennessee has to feel like they let one slip away today, and it could prove a very costly loss. Had they won, they would've been 8-5 and in very good position to nab the second wild-card spot behind Jacksonville. By losing, they opened the door for Cleveland (who won today) to take sole possession of that second slot, and let Buffalo (who also won today) back into the picture.
San Diego, on the other hand, went a long way toward relieving some of the nagging doubts that have surrounded them this year. This has been an inconsistent team for much of the season, but winning a big road game over a plus-.500 opponent is a big momentum-builder, and helps alleviate the choking-dog reputation the team was starting to get. And it helped Tomlinson to have a big day on the road finally, gaining 146 yards rushing and scoring 2 TDs, one on the ground and one receiving. San Diego is still not in the same class as New England, Indy or Jacksonville obviously, but they have at least gotten themselves into the discussion as maybe the 4th-best team in the conference (with Pittsburgh struggling a bit), and have to be considered an AFC dark-horse.
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Tags: ladanian tomlinson, philip rivers, san diego chargers, tennessee titans
