SAN DIEGO -- So now we know what happens when you take star running back LaDainian Tomlinson from the San Diego Chargers. Philip Rivers, that's what; and the results aren't what you might imagine.
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| The fiery Philip Rivers shows that he can carry the Chargers if needed. (US Presswire) |
Final score: Philip Rivers 17, Tennessee 6.
OK, so that's an exaggeration, but it's no stretch to say that Rivers, not Tomlinson, was the difference. He made the plays, while L.T. made almost none, and that was the risk Tennessee was willing to take.
Only it didn't pay off.
For the second time in a month, Rivers rallied the Chargers to a come-from-behind victory over the Titans -- though this one was not as momentous as the overtime victory on Dec. 9 when San Diego fought back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit.
While that game might have been Rivers' most courageous performance of the season (he played the second half with a sprained knee), Sunday's start was the most important ... of his career. He not only won a playoff game, San Diego's first since 1995, he did it without Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates.
Gates bowed out in the second quarter with a dislocated big toe and will be X-rayed on Monday. His status for next weekend's game in Indianapolis is uncertain, though the Pro Bowl tight end didn't sound a note of optimism when he described the injury as "very painful."
Tomlinson, on the other hand, was around for all four quarters, though you wouldn't have known it by the stat sheet. Until the fourth quarter he didn't have a run longer than 4 yards, and 26 of his 42 yards occurred in the last period.
Which meant it was up to Rivers -- the guy the San Diego Union-Tribune described as the team's "X-factor" in a headline this weekend -- to lead the Bolts to victory. And he did just that to become the first Chargers quarterback since Stan Humphries to win a playoff game.
"I thought Philip Rivers played his ass off," said coach Norv Turner.
That's one way of putting it. Another is that he played the way his critics said he couldn't -- making the big plays, the right reads and the accurate throws. So he threw as many interceptions (one) as touchdown passes. He completed five passes of 25 or more yards to shred the Tennessee defense and defuse the Titans' strategy.
"I think that's been the strategy for 34 games since I've been here," said Rivers. "And I don't think that strategy is going to change as long as 21 (Tomlinson) is playing here, which I hope is a long time."
