Final
Rivers rallies Chargers to 33-25 win vs Titans
Nov 1, 2010 - 1:29 AM By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports WriterSAN DIEGO (AP) -- There was a bad vibe once again hanging over the San Diego Chargers, who were booed as they left the field at halftime trailing the Tennessee Titans by five.
That's when beleaguered coach Norv Turner, criticized all season by outsiders because of his team's many blunders, may have saved the Chargers' season with what was described by his players as an emotional speech.
"I think that was the turning point of the game, not what we did on the field," said tight end Antonio Gates, whose 48-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter put the Chargers ahead in a game they'd win 33-25 on Sunday.
"He came out and expressed how he feels about this team, expressed how he believes in this team. We took that as a challenge. It meant something to him," Gates said.
"You could tell the emotion he had because he was getting pretty red," fullback Mike Tolbert said.
The Chargers (3-5) snapped their three-game losing streak and beat the Titans (5-3) for the eighth straight time dating to 1993. The Titans lost quarterback Vince Young to a sprained left ankle late in the game after losing wide receiver Kenny Britt to a right hamstring injury in the first quarter.
Quarterback Philip Rivers said he thinks Turner gets unfairly criticized for his perceived lack of emotion.
"He has plenty of passion and gives us plenty of motivation," Rivers said. "But this halftime was his best, as fiery as he's been. That's why it's so emotional. It's been tough. We don't deserve any sympathy. We've done it to ourselves."
Playing with an injured toe, Gates took advantage of yet another mismatch. He got behind linebacker Will Witherspoon to haul in the go-ahead, 48-yard pass TD pass, his ninth of the season, for a 24-19 lead.
Gates was late coming out of the locker room after halftime because he was getting his foot re-taped.
"They were the most complete team we've played," Turner said. "That's what makes this win that much more special to me."
Young was hurt while scrambling with less than six minutes to play and had to be helped off the field. Kerry Collins moved the Titans to the Chargers 15 before Chris Johnson dropped a pass on fourth-and-2 with 30 seconds to go.
"It was just a dropped ball, that's about it, a play I was supposed to make," Johnson said. "I make it nine out of 10 times but it was just a dropped ball."
Said Collins: "We just couldn't hook up for whatever reason. It's unfortunate because we fought our butts off to get down there."
Young had played well after returning from a sprained left knee and ankle that kept him out of a win against Philadelphia a week earlier. Young completed 10 of 21 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
Rivers had his fifth 300-yard game of the season, tying his career high from last season. He completed 27 of 36 passes for 305 yards, with two TDs and one interception. His 2,649 yards are the most ever by an NFL quarterback in the first eight games of a season, bettering the old mark of 2,580 by Hall of Famer Dan Fouts for the Chargers in 1982.
Rivers also threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles with 6:51 left. The Chargers botched the point after, which would have given them a nine-point lead.
Young's 71-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Nate Washington pulled the Titans to 27-25 with 11:43 left. The conversion pass to Johnson failed.
Chargers rookie running back Ryan Mathews sustained cuts and scrapes when his helmet came off in the third quarter but he returned.
The Chargers trailed 19-7 late in the second quarter before getting three straight scores.
Mathews scored on a 7-yard run 1:55 before halftime and Kris Brown kicked a 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to bring the Chargers within two. Gates' TD catch gave San Diego its first lead since the first quarter.
Brown kicked a 36-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 27-19 lead. On the Titans' first play from scrimmage, Young hit Washington for the long touchdown.
The Titans took their 19-7 lead on a 29-yard TD run by Johnson with 4:43 left in the second quarter. He started right and then cut back to his left, avoided two tackles and then picked up a key block from Young, who took out cornerback Antoine Cason at about the 15 to clear the way to the end zone. Young then slung Johnson over his shoulder and carried him toward the bench.
Another Chargers special teams blunder led to a 2-0 Titans lead less than two minutes into the game. Nick Schommer blocked Mike Scifres' punt, with the ball bouncing out of the end zone and into the stands for a safety.
Rivers led the Chargers on an 83-yard, 15-play drive capped on a 1-yard run by fullback Mike Tolbert for a 7-2 lead.
The Titans got Rob Bironas' 21-yard field goal and a 1-yard TD pass from Young to tight end Craig Stevens on consecutive drives to take a 12-7 lead.
Notes: The Chargers converted 12 of 18 third downs. ... Turner is 93-103-1 in three stints as an NFL head coach. ... Chargers G Kris Dielman had a stinger, Tolbert a mild ankle sprain and LB Kevin Burnett a shoulder injury.
- NFL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TENNESSEE 5 14 0 6 25
SAN DIEGO 7 7 10 9 33 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TEN - SAFETY, 1:29
SDG - TD, MIKE TOLBERT 1 YD RUN (KRIS
BROWN KICK), 10:27. SANDIEGO
7-2
TEN - FG, ROB BIRONAS 21 YD, 14:43.
SANDIEGO 7-5
2ND QUARTER: TEN - TD, CRAIG STEVENS
Oct 31 7:19 PM - NFL
TENNESSEE 25
SAN DIEGO 33 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Oct 31 7:19 PM
TD SDG DARREN SPROLES 13 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (TWO-POINT RUN CONVERSION FAILED)
Titans 25, Chargers 33 4th - 6:51Oct 31 6:50 PM
TD SDG DARREN SPROLES 13 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (TWO-POINT RUN CONVERSION FAILED)
Titans 25, Chargers 33 4th - 6:51Oct 31 6:50 PM
TD SDG DARREN SPROLES 13 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (TWO-POINT RUN CONVERSION FAILED)
Titans 25, Chargers 33 4th - 6:51Oct 31 6:49 PM
TD SDG DARREN SPROLES 13 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (TWO-POINT RUN CONVERSION FAILED)
Titans 25, Chargers 33 4th - 6:51Oct 31 6:49 PM
TD TEN NATE WASHINGTON 71 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (TWO-POINT PASS CONVERSION FAILED)
Titans 25, Chargers 27 4th - 11:43Oct 31 6:34 PM- NFL
TD TEN
NATE WASHINGTON 71 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG
(TWO-POINT PASS CONVERSION FAILED)
TENNESSEE 25
SAN DIEGO 27 11:43 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Titans 25, Chargers 27 4th - 11:43Oct 31 6:34 PM - NFL
FG SDG
KRIS BROWN 36 YD
TENNESSEE 19
SAN DIEGO 27 12:01 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Titans 19, Chargers 27 4th - 12:05Oct 31 6:30 PM - NFL
TENNESSEE 19
SAN DIEGO 24 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Oct 31 6:24 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:16 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:16 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:16 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:14 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:14 PM
TD SDG ANTONIO GATES 48 YD PASS FROM PHILIP RIVERS (KRIS BROWN KICK)
Titans 19, Chargers 24 3rd - 4:20Oct 31 6:14 PM- NFL
FG SDG
KRIS BROWN 34 YD
TENNESSEE 19
SAN DIEGO 17 7:45 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Titans 19, Chargers 17 3rd - 7:49Oct 31 6:01 PM - NFL
TENNESSEE 19
SAN DIEGO 14 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Oct 31 5:33 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:05 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:05 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:05 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:02 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:02 PM
TD TEN CRAIG STEVENS 1 YD PASS FROM VINCE YOUNG (ROB BIRONAS KICK)
Titans 12, Chargers 7 2nd - 8:08Oct 31 5:02 PM- NFL
TENNESSEE 5
SAN DIEGO 7 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Oct 31 4:47 PM - NFL
FG TEN
ROB BIRONAS 21 YD
TENNESSEE 5
SAN DIEGO 7 0:17 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Titans 5, Chargers 7 1st - 0:19Oct 31 4:45 PM - NFL
FG TEN
ROB BIRONAS 21 YD
TENNESSEE 3
SAN DIEGO 9 0:17 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Titans 3, Chargers 9 1st - 0:19Oct 31 4:44 PM - NFL
SAFETY SDG
TENNESSEE 0
SAN DIEGO 2 13:31 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Titans 0, Chargers 2 1st - 13:37Oct 31 4:09 PM
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