Chargers win to advance in AFC playoffs

Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

The Chargers scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to beat Tennessee Titans 17-6 in the AFC Wild Card round Sunday before 65,640 fans at Qualcomm Stadium.

The No. 3-seeded Bolts (12-5) claimed their first playoff victory since their 1994 Super Bowl season to earn a trip to the AFC Division Round next Sunday at the No. 2-seeded Indianapolis Colts (14-2).

The AFC West champions overcame a second-half deficit to beat the Titans for the second time this year. In the regular season, the Chargers trailed the Titans 17-3 entering the fourth quarter before winning 23-17 in overtime.

The Chargers' clinched the game with a 1-yard touchdown dive by LaDainian Tomlinson on fourth-and-goal with 8:45 left in the game. Tomlinson was hit at the line of scrimmage as he leaped above the line and knocked backward, but he reached the ball across the goal line for the score.

Tennessee challenged the touchdown signal, but the game officials ruled Tomlinson broke the plane with the ball.

The Chargers took their first lead of the game with a 10-6 advantage on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Philips Rivers to wide receiver Vincent Jackson with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

The score came on a seven-play, 78-yard drive that was aided by a 15-yard personal foul against defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. He jumped offsides and knocked Rivers to the ground to give the Bolts a first down at the Titans' 29-yard line. Two plays later Jackson scored.

Tennessee responded by driving to the Chargers' 17-yard line, but a 3-yard tackle for a loss by outside linebacker Shaun Phillips followed by two incomplete passes forced the Titans to settle for a 38-yard field goal. Third-year veteran Rob Bironas missed with 14:03 left in the fourth quarter as the score remained 10-6.

The Chargers got on the scoreboard for the first time with 9:41 left in the third quarter when they trimmed Tennessee's lead to 6-3 on a 20-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding.

The Bolts drove 12 plays and 86 yards to set up the field goal as Rivers kept the drive alive with third-down completions of 19 yards to Chris Chambers and 34 yards to Vincent Jackson.

Tennessee's 6-0 at halftime was the result of two Bironas field goals of 30 yards and 44.

The Titans' took the game's opening kickoff and drove 13 plays and 61 yards before pressure from Phillips forced an incompletion on third-and-7. The Titans' settled for Bironas' first field goal with 9:37 remaining in the first quarter.

The Chargers had a chance to tie the game late in the second quarter, but Kaeding's 45-yard field goal attempt missed to the right with 3:06 left in the first half.

The Titans took possession at the 35-yard line and converted two third-down plays to drive 39 yards in snaps for Bironas' second field goal as time expired in the first half.

The Charges' defense thwarted one other first-half scoring opportunity early in the second quarter when inside linebacker Matt Wilhelm hit running back Chris Brown moments before outside linebacker Shawne Merriman hit Brown and popped the ball loose for a fumble recovered by Phillips.