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Tomlinson, Chargers race past Raiders in fourth-quarter rally

Sep 29, 2008 - 1:39 AM OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers delivered another blow to Lane Kiffin's job security.

Tomlinson ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns Sunday as the Chargers erased a 15-point halftime deficit to rally for a 28-18 victory over the Raiders.

It marked the 10th straight time that San Diego has beaten Oakland in this AFC West rivalry.

"You gotta understand, (the Raiders) get paid too," Tomlinson said. "They study us and they're gonna make some plays, and they definitely made some plays."

Aside from the historical implications, the loss could prove devastating to Kiffin, whose tenure as the Raiders' head coach has been uncertain for the past three weeks.

Following last weekend's last-second loss at Buffalo, multiple media outlets reported that Raiders owner Al Davis would fire Kiffin as early as the following day. A similar scenario unfolded after the Raiders were thrashed, 41-14, by Denver in their season opener.

The 33-year-old Kiffin, who refused to speculate about his future with the Raiders throughout this past week, cannot be feeling comfortable about his situation after Oakland's latest debacle.

"That's not my call," Kiffin said Sunday. "I don't know. I'm not going to do anything different. I'm going to keep this team together the best that we can, keep this staff together, prepare and figure out a way to win these games."

Tomlinson, for one, seemed impressed with how well Kiffin prepared and coached the Raiders for this contest.

"I'm not in that locker room," the 2006 league MVP said. "I don't know how they prepare, but to me it seemed like they played a heck of a ballgame."

Oakland (1-3) dominated the Chargers (2-2) on both sides of the ball in the first half and entered the break with a 15-0 cushion.

"I was extremely impressed with their talent and physicalness of their defense," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "They were aggressive and came after us."

"I think this team is as good as anybody in the league," Kiffin said. "We went into the fourth quarter with a lead, again. We just have to do a better job of making plays in the end."

Although they sputtered offensively in the third quarter, the Raiders still owned a 15-3 advantage with 15 minutes remaining.

But that was when the Chargers, looking to avoid their second straight 1-3 start to a season, erupted.

San Diego finally found the end zone with 14:12 remaining when Philip Rivers hooked up with tight end Antonio Gates, cutting the deficit to 15-10.

The Chargers got the ball back just 78 seconds later when linebacker Marques Harris sacked Oakland's JaMarcus Russell and recovered the second-year quarterback's fumble at the Raiders' 13-yard line.

San Diego took its first lead of the game on the following play, when Tomlinson juked his way through a crowd en route to a 13-yard TD run. The Chargers pushed their lead to 18-15 when Rivers found Darren Sproles for the two-point conversion.

Oakland forged an 18-18 tie with 2:47 left on Sebastian Janikowski's 32-yard field goal. But after Sproles reeled off a 67-yard kickoff return to the Oakland 35, the Chargers reclaimed the lead on Nate Kaeding's 47-yard field goal.

Russell completed two short passes to tight end Zach Miller on the ensuing possession to move Oakland to its own 44. But the Chargers ultimately regained possession on downs, and Tomlinson raced for a 41-yard TD with 1:04 remaining to seal the contest.

"Our (defense) finished them off," Rivers said. "They didn't let them get a cheap score. The defense, we put them in some tough situations and I thought they were outstanding all game long."

Tomlinson rushed for 106 yards on 20 carries to record his first 100-yard game of the season. Rivers struggled throughout the afternoon, completing 14-of-25 passes for 180 yards and two interceptions.

The No. 1 overall selection in last year's draft, Russell enjoyed the most productive day of his young career. He finished 22-of-37 for a career-high 277 yards, one TD and one interception.

Miller scored Oakland's only touchdown of the game when he hauled in Russell's long pass over the middle and barreled through a pair of defenders for a 63-yard score that made it 12-0 early in the second quarter.

"I felt like we left too many points on the field as an offense," Miller said. "We could have had multiple opportunities to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals."