Tomlinson Does Real Footwork
The feet of their two kickers got the San Diego Chargers into trouble Sunday, and the feet of LaDainian Tomlinson bailed them out.
Tomlinson rushed for a career-best 220 yards and three touchdowns, tearing through Denver’s top-ranked run defense with remarkable ease. It was his relentless running that set up the winning field goal in overtime -- a 27-yard kick by Steve Christie that clinched a 30-27 victory and first place in the AFC West.
“Every time he touched the ball he made something happen,” Charger quarterback Drew Brees said of Tomlinson, whose performance came two months after the Bronco defense slapped the Denver boot on him, limiting him to 48 yards in 14 carries.
It was the third overtime victory of the season for the Chargers (8-4), matching an NFL record set by last season’s 49ers, the only other team to go 3-0 in overtime games.
“The way I feel right now is: I kind of expected it,” said Brees, who earlier orchestrated overtime victories over San Francisco and Oakland. “I think in the locker room everyone is excited, but I don’t think everyone is as excited as when we beat the 49ers, or maybe when we beat the Chiefs, or even when we beat Oakland. We’ve been in these situations, and we’re kind of just starting to expect it.”
This time, Tomlinson made up for the miscues of San Diego kickers Christie and Wade Richey. Christie missed three field goal attempts, including one near the end of regulation and one that was blocked in overtime. Richey, whose role has dwindled to kickoff specialist, was repeatedly shallow on his kickoffs, and, in the second quarter, enabled the Broncos to start a scoring drive on the 40-yard line by booting the ball out of bounds.
But it was the block in overtime that felt to the Chargers like a swift kick in the gut. They had battled back from a 10-0 deficit with a 24-point second quarter. They had buried the memory of a humiliating 30-3 loss to Miami a week earlier. They were on the verge of a monumental victory, one that would let them control their own playoff destiny. The crowd of 66,357 was on its feet ...
And, with a stomach-turning thud, a low, 38-yard attempt was batted back in Christie’s face.
The Broncos (7-5) pounced on the ball -- the kick was attempted on third down -- and seized the momentum. Eight plays later, they were lining up for their own game-clincher, an attempt of 53 yards by Jason Elam, normally on target in those pressure situations.
“He’s pretty accurate, so I was thinking, ‘Man, we blew our opportunity,’ ” Tomlinson said. “I thought for sure he was going to make that field goal.”
But Elam’s kick fluttered wide left, and the Chargers had another chance. They responded by putting the ball back in the hands of Tomlinson, who rushed for 57 yards in the overtime. Other Chargers made big contributions on the winning drive -- Reche Caldwell caught a pass for 11 yards, Stephen Alexander caught one for 20 -- but Tomlinson had six carries in the final eight plays. His feet still dabbed at the turf like sewing-machine needles. His cuts still left Denver players hugging the air.
“His cuts look premeditated because they look so smooth,” Brees marveled. “You just say, wow, that’s the only place he could have gone and he went there. But it’s feel. That’s why he’s one of the best in the league.”
Tomlinson is the league’s second-leading rusher with 1,318 yards, four yards behind Kansas City’s Priest Holmes.
Denver was limiting opponents to 72.7 yards rushing a game, a mark Tomlinson surpassed with one run on the final play of the first quarter. He took a handoff and burst around the left side, dashing down the Bronco sideline for 76 yards before being caught at the six by Tyrone Poole, who was flagged for a personal foul on the tackle for latching onto the running back’s face mask and nearly twisting off his helmet. Tomlinson scored from the three on the next play.
Tomlinson scored on San Diego’s next two possessions, showing astounding strength on a five-yard touchdown run by powering the final three yards with linebacker Ian Gold draped across his back.
Bracketing the three Tomlinson scoring runs were touchdowns by Denver rookie Clinton Portis, whose performance was overshadowed even though he gained 159 yards in 23 carries.
“All those yards are no good when you lose,” Portis said.
The division race is far from over, of course. The Chargers play host to the Raiders on Sunday, and that showdown will be even more meaningful if Oakland (7-4) beats the New York Jets tonight.
The Chargers will be without starting defensive tackle Jamal Williams, who suffered a dislocated ankle in Sunday’s game and is done for the season. More than one San Diego player believes the injury came as a result of a cheap shot by a Denver player.
“They have that reputation of cheap shots,” San Diego defensive end Marcellus Wiley said. “And I don’t think today helped them any.”
