LT takes matters into his own hands

LaDainian Tomlinson wanted to eliminate all the risks of trying a field goal in overtime.

So he took the ball, cut to his left and outran everyone on a 16-yard touchdown run with 7:29 left in overtime, finishing off the Chargers' rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 23-17 on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

"Anything can happen with a field goal," Tomlinson said.

The Chargers (8-5) won their third straight and seventh in nine games and clinched their second straight AFC West title.

"To come in here and get a win is really, really big for our guys," said San Diego coach Norv Turner. "And then the way we did it, I think the key for our football team today was we fought hard."

The Chargers won a physical game in which linebacker Shawne Merriman got 2 sacks early in the first half, then spent the rest of the day sidelined by an injured left knee. Tight end Antonio Gates hurt his back and returned to catch the game-tying touchdown.

Philip Rivers, intercepted twice, hurt his left knee in the first half and returned to finish the game wearing a brace.

"He went out there and gave us everything he had," Merriman said. "He wasn't 100 percent. You could see it. He was limping around all the time, still went out and fought for us."

Tennessee (7-6) had a chance to run out the clock in a game the Titans desperately needed to stay close to Cleveland and Jacksonville in the chase for the AFC's two wild-card berths. But they gave the ball back to San Diego with 2:24 left in regulation, then went three-and-out in overtime.

The loss wasted a strong performance by the Tennessee defense, which had 3 interceptions. But the Titans couldn't get close enough to Rivers when it mattered as he tossed a 7-yard TD to Tomlinson with 7:29 left to cap a 92-second drive.

"It was as physical a game as I've been in," Rivers said. "That's the way it goes. I didn't feel like I was running for my life."

San Diego had the ball for 27 of the game's final 30 offensive plays. Before the game-tying drive, the Chargers had 166 yards of offense and 10 first downs. They gained 175 yards between the final 2:24 of regulation and overtime.