Melvin Gordon rushes for 196 yards in Chargers’ 43-35 win over Titans

Melvin Gordon ran for a career-high 196 yards and had the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run, and defensive backs Dwight Lowery and Brandon Flowers scored on turnovers by Marcus Mariota to lead the Chargers to a 43-35 victory Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, who still haven’t won in San Diego since 1990.

The Chargers (4-5) won two days before the team will ask voters to approve a billion-dollar subsidy for a new downtown stadium to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium. The measure was polling well short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass.

Gordon, who leads the NFL with 11 touchdowns, scored on a 1-yard run with 5:28 left in the third quarter to give the Chargers a 26-21 lead. He ran 32 times, and broke a 47-yard run in the closing minutes. He also caught four passes for 65 yards.

Mariota, who led the Titans to a 21-19 lead by guiding two quick scoring drives on either side of halftime, helped the Chargers surge to a 12-point lead when he fumbled late in the third quarter. Lowery picked up the ball ran 43 yards for a touchdown and a 33-21 lead.

With the Chargers up by eight — and with a propensity to blow late leads this year — Flowers jumped a route, intercepted Mariota and returned it 33 yards for a 43-28 lead with 4:51 left.

Running the two-minute drill to perfection, Mariota threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Rishard Matthews with 14 seconds left before halftime. The Titans got the second-half kick and Mariota quickly moved them down the field, finishing the drive with a 14-yard run on which he held out the ball to touch the pylon.

The Chargers came right back with a drive aided by three crucial penalties by the Titans’ defense to get Gordon’s go-ahead score.

The Titans pulled to 33-28 with just less than 10 minutes to play when Mariota hit Delanie Walker on an 8-yard scoring pass.

The Titans (4-5) have lost seven straight in San Diego since 1993, when they were the Houston Oilers. The franchise’s last victory in San Diego was in 1990.

Philip Rivers threw a 13-yard TD pass to Antonio Gates in the first quarter and a 6-yarder to Tyrell Williams in the second for a 16-0 Chargers lead.

Mariota, who passed for 313 yards and three TDs, also threw a 16-yard TD pass to Matthews in the second quarter.

San Diego held DeMarco Murray to 51 yards on 14 carries. He scored on a 1-yard run late in the game.