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Tomlinson, Chargers pick up rare road win over Chiefs

Dec 2, 2007 - 11:39 PM By Marc Bowman PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers picked up a rare road win over a fierce rival.

Tomlinson rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns Sunday as the resurgent Chargers rallied for a 24-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

In winning just their second game in their last 11 tries at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers avenged a 30-16 loss to the Chiefs in San Diego September 30. It was San Diego's first road victory since beating the Denver Broncos, 41-3, on October 7.

"We are both pleased and excited for the mentality that our guys had," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "There was a mindset today that we were going to do whatever it took to find a way to win.

"We created turnovers, protected the football, protected the quarterback extremely well, and we ran the football."

Tomlinson rushed 23 times for 177 yards as San Diego (7-5) won for the sixth time in its last eight games.

"My mindset is that we have to run the ball effectively no matter what," Tomlinson said. "And this team is good at doing that. We want to run the ball so everything will open up on offense."

Tomlinson's 31-yard TD run on San Diego's first possession of the second half broke a 10-10 tie with 12:16 left in the third quarter.

"They made a couple of big plays and we didn't fit the run correctly on a couple of them on LaDainian," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said.

"They've been waiting to get a game like that," Tomlinson said of his offensive linemen. "They dominated at the line of scrimmage more than they have the whole year."

The reigning NFL MVP, Tomlinson sealed the win with a 28-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-inches to cap the scoring with 10:15 left in the game.

Tomlinson topped the 100-yard mark for the first time since scoring four touchdowns in a 198-yard effort against Oakland on October 14.

"I thought that LT finished runs and I thought that he competed at an extremely strong level," Turner said. "You get in those third-and-ones, teams overcommit and they give you a chance to make a big run.

"He did a good job of running the football. There were a lot of plays where there wasn't a lot there, but he stayed with it."

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson for a 38-yard pass for San Diego's first touchdown, tying the score at 10-10 with 3:29 left in the second quarter.

"I thought that Vincent made a spectacular play because when the ball was thrown you thought that there was no way he gets to it," Turner said. "He played it like a center fielder."

Rivers completed 10-of-21 passes for 157 yards and one interception.

Kansas City (4-8) suffered its fifth straight loss, matching its longest losing streak since 2000. It was the Chiefs' fourth straight home loss and fifth of the year, their most since 2001.

Damon Huard filled in at quarterback for the Chiefs as Brodie Croyle was out with a bruised back. Huard completed 19-of-34 passes for 186 yards and one interception before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a hand injury.

"We made some plays today, but not enough," Huard said. "Certainly when you get down in the Red Zone you've got to score touchdowns. That's been the story all year for us."

Kansas City quarterbacks tossed three interceptions and were sacked nine times.

The Chiefs' only touchdown came on a 2-yard pass from Huard to defensive end Jared Allen, who lined up as an eligible receiver on 3rd-and-goal. The score gave Kansas City a 10-3 lead with 5:23 left in the second quarter.

Newly signed placekicker John Carney was successful on his only field goal attempt in his first action for the Chiefs since replacing Dave Rayner, who was cut by the team on Tuesday after missing three of his last five field goal tries.