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Chargers Repeat As AFC West Champs

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The Associated Press

Published: December 17, 2007

SAN DIEGO - LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers left no doubt.

The Chargers repeated as AFC West champions by beating the punchless Detroit Lions 51-14 on Sunday, their fourth straight win and eighth in 10 games.

Tomlinson had 116 yards and two scores on 15 carries to continue his climb up the career rushing and touchdown charts. The rout was so complete that L.T. got the second half off, which allowed Darren Sproles to run for 122 yards and two TDs. It was the first time in Chargers history that two backs rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game.

"It isn't our main goal, but it feels good to win the division, especially starting 1-3," said Tomlinson.

With their third division crown in four years secured, the Chargers (9-5) need simply to win out to secure the AFC's No. 3 seed.

Jaguars Hold Off Weather, Steelers For 29-22 Win

PITTSBURGH - The snow, wind and chilly temperatures on a mid-December day in Pittsburgh made for perfect conditions on exactly the kind of day the Steelers love. Perfect, that is, for the weatherproof Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fred Taylor scored a decisive touchdown on a 12-yard run in the final two minutes while gaining 147 yards and the Jaguars withstood the bad weather and Pittsburgh's fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Steelers at their own game, winning 29-22 Sunday.

The Steelers (9-5), losing at home for the first time in eight games this season on a day seemingly built for them, fell into a tie with the Browns (9-5) for the AFC North lead after Cleveland beat Buffalo 8-0. The Steelers, who could have clinched the division with a win and a Browns loss, own the tiebreaker going into their Thursday night game at St. Louis.

EAGLES 10, COWBOYS 6: Tony Romo's latest A-list girlfriend - Jessica Simpson - and his parents came to Texas Stadium to see the Cowboys play their final home game before the playoffs. They were treated to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles beginning their last-gasp bid to get into the playoffs, too.

McNabb wasn't his old self, but he was good enough - and certainly better than the out-of-whack and possibly injured Romo, leading the Eagles past the Cowboys.

Philadelphia (6-8) could have won by more, but Brian Westbrook broke free for a 24-yard run with a little more than two minutes left. Instead of sprinting into the end zone, he stopped at the 1. Dallas (12-2) was out of timeouts, so the Eagles were able to take a knee on three straight plays rather take any chances.

Philadelphia had lost three straight and was still smarting from a nationally televised blowout loss to Dallas six weeks ago. Revenge was sweet as the Eagles ended the Cowboys' seven-game winning streak and prevented them from tying the franchise record for wins in a season. They also kept alive their hopes of snagging a wild-card berth into the postseason.

REDSKINS 22, GIANTS 10: Washington kept its playoff hopes alive and put a little doubt into New York's once seemingly certain road to the postseason.

Clinton Portis ran for 126 yards and a TD and Todd Collins led the Redskins on five scoring drives in his first start in 10 years, outplaying Eli Manning.

The win was the second straight for the Redskins (7-7) and it moved them within a half-game of Minnesota for a wild-card berth. The Vikings (7-6) play Chicago tonight, before meeting the Redskins in Minnesota next week. New Orleans also is 7-7 with two games to play.

The loss was the third straight at home for the Giants (9-5), and this one was costly as Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey was lost for the season with a broken left leg early in the second half.

COLTS 21, RAIDERS 14: Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts had to work a lot harder than expected to get a week off to open the playoffs.

Manning threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez with 4:49 left for the Colts' first offensive TD of the game, and Indianapolis rallied to beat Oakland and clinch a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.

The Colts (12-2) trailed 14-13 after Justin Fargas' 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. But Manning completed all seven passes on the ensuing drive, including a key third-down conversion to Reggie Wayne, to drive Indianapolis 91 yards for the go-ahead score. Joseph Addai ran in the 2-point conversion to make it a seven-point game.

Kelvin Hayden broke up a fourth-down pass to Jerry Porter from the Indianapolis 16 with 1:50 remaining and the Colts ran out the clock to win it.

SAINTS 31, CARDINALS 24: No botched trick plays this time as the New Orleans Saints protected a one-score lead to keep themselves alive in the NFC wild-card chase.

Drew Brees connected on 87 percent of his throws for 315 yards and two touchdowns, capping his day with a clutch, 22-yard third-down completion to Billy Miller. That allowed the Saints to safely run out the clock for the victory.

When New Orleans (7-7) last played in the Louisiana Superdome two games ago, a fumble on a botched reverse set up Tampa Bay's winning touchdown inside the final half-minute. With a loss severely hurting playoff hopes for either team, the game was a high-anxiety affair.

Brees completed 26 of 30 throws while never turning over the ball. His prettiest pass was a 32-yard rainbow David Patten caught in stride along the sideline for a touchdown in the second quarter.

TITANS 26, CHIEFS 17: In a place that's been a house of horrors for young opposing quarterbacks, Vince Young made himself right at home.

Tennessee's second-year starter passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns and Rob Bironas kicked four field goals for a much-needed victory against host Kansas City that keeps the Titans (8-6) alive in the AFC wild-card chase.

With the stadium about half empty on the sunny, chilly afternoon, the Chiefs (4-10) lost their seventh in a row and closed out their most miserable home season in 30 years. Their 2-6 record in Arrowhead Stadium, where they used to be nearly invincible, was their worst in a non-strike year since the 1977 team was 1-6 in a 14-game season.

The Chiefs had won 21 of their previous 24 against quarterbacks in their first or second year as starters making their initial appearance in Arrowhead. But Young made almost no mistakes while completing 16 of 26 passes with no interceptions.

BROWNS 8, BILLS 0: Once out of the snow, host Cleveland slid closer to a spot in the AFC playoffs.

Jamal Lewis plowed for 163 yards and Phil Dawson somehow kicked two field goals through harsh, wintry winds as the surprising Browns improved their postseason chances with a win against Buffalo.

In blizzard-like conditions better suited for the Iditarod sled-dog race, the Browns (9-5), who never figured to be playing meaningful games in December when the season started, picked up one of their biggest wins since returning as an expansion franchise in 1999.

PANTHERS 13, SEAHAWKS 10: Quarterback No. 4 was just good enough to give Carolina an unlikely win against the sleepwalking NFC West champions.

Rookie Matt Moore, becoming the fourth starting QB for the Panthers this season, engineered three scoring drives in the fourth quarter and the Panthers (6-8) stunned Seattle.

Moore, getting his first start after 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde was unable to play due to what Fox called general soreness, completed 19 of 27 passes for 208 yards and did not have an interception after coming into the game with a 21.1 passer rating in six brief appearances.

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