Raiders Lose To Chargers

SAN DIEGO (AP) – LaDainian Tomlinson will never hate the Oakland Raiders like Marty Schottenheimer did. He’s too laid-back for something like that.

At the rate he’s going, though, Tomlinson might never lose again to the Silver and Black.

Tomlinson matched his career high with four touchdowns, rushing for 198 yards on 24 carries and leading the Chargers to their eighth straight win over the Raiders, 28-14, on Sunday.

Tomlinson scored on runs of 3, 27, 13 and 41 yards to move into a tie with Jim Brown for fourth on the all-time rushing touchdowns list with 106. In the process, Tomlinson passed John Riggins, who had 104.

The reigning league MVP scored for the final time with 2:43 left, thrilling the Raider-hating crowd, and silencing the thousands of Oakland fans in the stadium. It was a simple off-tackle play that Tomlinson broke to the outside. After racing into the end zone, he dropped the ball and raised both arms in the air.

It was the third time L.T. rushed for four touchdowns in a game, and the fifth time overall that he’s scored four times. Surprisingly, it was the first time he scored four TDs at home.

“The last time we were here, they booed us,” Tomlinson said. “It was good to hear them cheering us.”

The defending AFC West champion Chargers (3-3) rebounded to .500 after their early season, three-game losing streak left everyone frustrated, especially Tomlinson. The Chargers pulled into a tie atop the division with Kansas City. Two weeks earlier, fans mercilessly booed the Chargers and chanted Schottenheimer’s first name during a 30-16 loss to the Chiefs.

To think, the Chargers can beat the Raiders without Schottenheimer as their coach. Schottenheimer, fired in February, despised the Raiders and was 27-7 against them in his career, including the first seven wins in the Chargers’ streak.

Norv Turner, who replaced Schottenheimer, was fired by the Raiders after coaching them to a 9-23 record in 2004-05.