Rivers, San Diego stomp on Denver
SAN DIEGO » Strip away all those special teams blunders and turnovers, and this is how the San Diego Chargers are really supposed to look.
Philip Rivers tied his career high with four touchdown passes to four different receivers and the Chargers beat the Denver Broncos 35-14 last night for their third straight victory.
"This was the most complete game we’ve played in all three phases," Rivers said. "We are in a lot of ways in playoff football already. You almost can’t afford a step back at this point.
"We haven’t peaked," added Rivers, who leads the NFL with 3,177 yards passing and has a chance to break Dan Marino’s single-season record of 5,084 set in 1984. "I don’t think we’re playing at 100 percent, but we’re playing pretty good."
While Rivers did it on a season-low 233 yards, San Diego’s defense, led by linebacker Shaun Phillips, settled in and harassed Denver’s Kyle Orton after he led an easy opening scoring drive. Denver was held to 235 yards and converted only one of 12 third downs.
Patrick Crayton scored on a 40-yard catch-and-run late in the second quarter, hurting his left wrist as he fell into the end zone, and speedy little Darren Sproles had a 57-yard catch-and-run early in the third.
"We’re coming together as a team," coach Norv Turner said.
Childress out; Frazier in
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. » Minnesota fired coach Brad Childress yesterday, ending an often tumultuous run.
The Vikings are 3-7, one year after losing in the NFC championship game.
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who has interviewed seven times for NFL head coaching jobs, will serve as interim head coach.
Childress, in his fifth season with the Vikings, went 40-37.
Chargers 35, Broncos 7
| Denver | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | 14 |
| San Diego | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | — | 35 |
First quarter
Den–Moreno 4 run (Prater kick), 12:05.
SD–Floyd 6 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 2:14.
Second quarter
SD–Tolbert 1 run (Kaeding kick), 7:58.
SD–Crayton 40 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 2:05.
Third quarter
SD–Sproles 57 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 12:36.
Fourth quarter
SD–Hester 3 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 14:16.
Den–Lloyd 13 pass from Orton (Prater kick), 8:48.
A–68,482.
| Den | SD | |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Total Net Yards | 235 | 400 |
| Rushes-yards | 15-63 | 38-147 |
| Passing | 172 | 253 |
| Punt Returns | 2-47 | 5-36 |
| Kickoff Returns | 6-92 | 2-50 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 1-0 | 1-28 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 24-38-1 | 16-26-1 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 5-45 | 1-8 |
| Punts | 9-37.2 | 4-43.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 8-56 | 5-40 |
| Time of Possession | 25:41 | 34:19 |
RUSHING–Denver, Moreno 13-58, Orton 1-4, Ball 1-1. San Diego, Tolbert 25-111, Sproles 5-14, Brinkley 1-9, Hester 3-7, Rivers 4-6.
PASSING–Denver, Orton 24-38-1-217. San Diego, Rivers 15-24-1-233, Scifres 1-1-0-28, Crayton 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING–Denver, Moreno 7-62, Lloyd 6-78, Gaffney 3-33, D.Thomas 3-17, Royal 2-12, Graham 2-6, Buckhalter 1-9. San Diego, Sproles 5-60, Crayton 3-105, Tolbert 2-42, Floyd 2-24, Sperry 2-21, Hester 2-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–San Diego, Kaeding 52 (SH).
NFL STANDINGS
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
| East | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| New England | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 289 | 242 |
| N.Y. Jets | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 238 | 177 |
| Miami | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 172 | 208 |
| Buffalo | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 213 | 276 |
| South | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Indianapolis | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 268 | 216 |
| Jacksonville | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 220 | 270 |
| Tennessee | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 257 | 198 |
| Houston | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 244 | 287 |
| North | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Baltimore | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 233 | 178 |
| Pittsburgh | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 235 | 165 |
| Cleveland | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 192 | 206 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 215 | 262 |
| West | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Kansas City | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 243 | 207 |
| Oakland | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 238 | 223 |
| San Diego | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 274 | 211 |
| Denver | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 217 | 287 |
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
| East | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Philadelphia | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 284 | 226 |
| N.Y. Giants | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 253 | 220 |
| Washington | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 202 | 245 |
| Dallas | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 229 | 271 |
| South | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Atlanta | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 256 | 192 |
| New Orleans | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 235 | 170 |
| Tampa Bay | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 209 | 206 |
| Carolina | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 117 | 252 |
| North | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Chicago | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 191 | 146 |
| Green Bay | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 252 | 146 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 172 | 226 |
| Detroit | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 234 | 237 |
| West | ||||||
| W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | |
| Seattle | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 185 | 233 |
| St. Louis | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 177 | 198 |
| Arizona | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 188 | 292 |
| San Francisco | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 160 | 219
|
Yesterday
» San Diego 35, Denver 14
Thursday
» New England at Detroit, 7:30 a.m.
» New Orleans at Dallas, 11:15 a.m.
» Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets, 3:20 p.m.
Sunday
» Tennessee at Houston, 8 a.m.
» Green Bay at Atlanta, 8 a.m.
» Minnesota at Washington, 8 a.m.
» Jacksonville at N.Y. Giants, 8 a.m.
» Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 8 a.m.
» Carolina at Cleveland, 8 a.m.
» Kansas City at Seattle, 11:05 a.m.
» Miami at Oakland, 11:05 a.m.
» St. Louis at Denver, 11:15 a.m.
» Philadelphia at Chicago, 11:15 a.m.
» Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 11:15 a.m.
» San Diego at Indianapolis, 3:20 p.m.
Next Monday
» San Francisco at Arizona, 3:30 p.m.
