Chargers quickly shift focus to playoffs

Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

The Chargers wrapped up a return to the AFC playoffs with the No. 3 seed on an afternoon LaDainian Tomlinson claimed back-to-back NFL rushing titles and the Bolts beat the Oakland Raiders for the ninth straight time.

Yes, the Chargers' 30-17 win Sunday at Oakland in the regular-season finale was a day for adding to their streaks and milestones, but the talk in the locker room quickly shifted gears to focusing on the AFC playoffs.

"It was a great win for all our guys," Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner said. "You can talk about individual marks and streaks, but my switch has already clicked over. We have a great opportunity to play a playoff game at home. This team has its sights set higher than individual statistics or feel-good stories. We want to have success in the playoffs."

The Chargers (11-5) open the AFC post-season Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium against Cleveland or Tennessee, depending on whether Tennessee beats Indianapolis Sunday night.

A year ago the Chargers were upset in their first playoff game after a bye week. This time they're looking forward to maintaining the momentum they have built by winning six straight games and 10 of their last 12.

"As far as approaching the playoff game, we know a little better what to expect," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "We got one under our belt. A lot guys have played at least one playoff game. I'm honestly glad we don't have a bye week. We get to keep it going and don't have to sit for 14 days."

Rivers was pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter once the Bolts took a 27-17 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding, one of his three field goals for the day.

Tomlinson left the game late in the third quarter after carrying 16 times for 56 yards to give him 1,474 yards for the season and a comfortable margin to claim the NFL rushing crown over Minnesota's Adrian Peterson.

"It was a good win and we knew the significance being the No. 3 seed," said Rivers, who was 13-of-23 for 135 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. "You want to beat the Raiders and you want to win the division. It wasn't always pretty, but it was one of those deals we always felt in control."

After leading only 14-10 at halftime, the Chargers pulled ahead 24-10 early in the third quarter with two scores that came from all three phases of the game.

Chargers return man Darren Sproles received the second-half kickoff, faked a reverse handoff to Antonio Cromartie and advanced the ball to the Raiders' 34-yard line. The Bolts scored five plays later on a 36-yard field goal by Kaeding for a 17-10 lead with 12:51 left in the third quarter.

After the teams traded punts, the Raiders faced a third-and-13 from their 12-yard line when rookie backup outside linebacker Jyles Tucker scored his first NFL touchdown.

The play started with Tucker sacking quarterback JaMarcus Russell, stripping the ball for a fumble and chasing the loose ball into the end zone for six points. It was one of three sacks on the day for Tucker.

A month and half ago the undrafted free agent from Wake Forest was on the Chargers' practice squad before an injury to Carlos Polk promoted him to the active squad. He saw spot duty relieving Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman and backup Marquis Harris before an injury last week to Harris moved Tucker to No. 2 on the depth chart.

"I got an opportunity to play and tried to make the best of it," Tucker said. "I tried to do everything I can on special teams on defense. We've got two studs out there, and I just tried to give them a blow when I could. I was fortunate some of the young guys got a chance to play today and I made a few plays."

Oakland later trimmed the Bolts' lead to 24-17 on a 32-yard pass from Russell to Jerry Porter, but the Chargers shut out the Raiders the rest of the way while adding Kaeding's second and third field goals.


The game began with the Bolts forcing a turnover and scoring on their first possession on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Tomlinson to finish a nine-play, 47-yard drive.

The quick TD was set up by defensive end Igor Olshanky's interception on the Raiders' first snap from scrimmage. Russell tried to dump off a short screen pass but threw into Olshansky's hands at the Raiders' 47-yard line.

A Chargers' fumble and pass interference call aided the Raiders' first score with 4:31 left in the first quarter. The pass interference flag advanced the ball to the 1-yard line and Dominic Rhodes scored running the ball on the next play.

The teams traded punts the rest of the half until Rivers directed a nine-play, 80-yard drive fro a 14-7 lead with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. Chambers out leaped the defensive back in the right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard reception.

Oakland trimmed their halftime deficit to 14-10 when the Raiders advanced the ball to the Bolts' 35-yard line to set up a 53-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski.

"It's been a long season, but what we've done during the season doesn't matter," said Merriman, who had one sack before he was pulled from the game. "What we do now to capitalize on our momentum is what we're looking to do."