FLASH RECAP:
Make no mistake, this is a victory for Oakland's inspired defense. The Raiders (9-4) hold LaDainian Tomlinson to 57 yards rushing and intercept Drew Brees three times en route to a convincing win over San Diego (8-5) in a battle for first place in the AFC West before an announced crowd of 67,968 at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 8, 2002.
Charlie Garner, Zack Crockett (above) and Tyrone Wheatley each have rushing touchdowns for the Raiders, who win their sixth road game against the Chargers the past seven seasons. Sebastian Janikowski kicks 51- and 20-yard field goals as surging Oakland wins its fifth straight game.
The Raiders' Rich Gannon sets an NFL record by exceeding 300 yards passing for the 10th time this season. With 328 yards passing, he eclipses Jeff George's club single-season record of 3,917 yards set in 1997. Gannon has thrown for a career-high 3,937 yards with three regular-season games remaining against Miami, Denver and Kansas City. With his 12th completion against the Chargers, Gannon breaks his team record of 361 completions in a season, set in 2001.
PRIME-TIME PLAYERS:
Raiders defense - The unit holds LaDainian Tomlinson to 57 yards rushing, it has three interceptions and surrenders only one touchdown.
Raiders offensive line - Three rushing touchdowns and only one sack allowed. San Diego's Junior Seau and friends are smacked where it hurts.
QB Rich Gannon - Doesn't throw a touchdown pass for only the second time this season, but he engineers five scoring drives on 26-of-41 passing for 328 yards with no interceptions.
WR Jerry Rice - Plagued by drops in the first half, the future Hall of Famer rebounds with a 56-yard catch and run to set up the Raiders' second touchdown late in the third quarter. He finishes the game with seven catches for 113 yards.
TE Doug Jolley - The rookie from Brigham Young has a career-best 104 yards on six catches.
CB Terrance Shaw - Starting for the injured Charles Woodson, the former Charger contributes an interception, two passes defensed and four solo tackles.
FS Anthony Dorsett - Tackles the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-one from the Oakland 31 in the third quarter. Dorsett flattens Tomlinson on an incompletion on San Diego's first possession and also forces a Drew Brees incompeltion on a safety blitz.
WR Eugene Parker - Catches a team-high seven passes for 96 yards.
LB Donnie Edwards - Contributes 10 solo tackles plus two assists.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson - Rushes for only 57 yards on 18 carries, but he breaks Natrone Means' single-season club record of 1,350 yards set in 1984. The Chargers are 0-4 this season when Tomlinson has less than 20 carries. The former Texas Christian University star has 1,375 yards through 13 games this season.
KEY STAT:
The Chargers' Drew Brees throws a season-high three interceptions. He had 12 interceptions in the season's first 12 games.
GOAT:
San Diego quarterback Drew Brees. When the Chargers defeated the Raiders 27-21 in overtime in Oakland on Oct. 20, Brees passed for 170 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 110.4 quarterback rating. In the rematch against the Raiders with first place in the AFC West at stake, the former Purdue star passed for 239 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions for an abysmal 40.6 quarterback rating.
TURNING POINT:
With Oakland leading 13-7, cornerback Tory James intercepts a Drew Brees pass at the Raiders' 13-yard line. Three plays later, Rich Gannon completes a 56-yard pass to Jerry Rice on third-and-six to the San Diego 27. The 8-play drive culminates on Zack Crockett's 1-yard run with 2:12 left in the third quarter as Oakland builds a 20-7 advantage.
BY THE NUMBERS:
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6: Victories by the Raiders the past seven games against the Chargers at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. The Raiders are 4-3 against the Chargers in Oakland over the same period.
16: Rushing touchdowns by Oakland this season, surpassing its total of 14 in 2001.
40.6: Quarterback rating for San Diego's Drew Brees, who had a 110.4 efficiency rating in the Chargers' victory at Oakland on Oct. 20.
83: Rushing yards allowed by Oakland the past two games against the Jets' Curtis Martin (26 yards on 11 carries) and the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson (57 yards on 18 carries).
THEY SAID IT:
Raiders DT John Parrella
"We knew their offense was LaDainian (Tomlinson). We knew if we stopped him, we'd stop their offense."
"It was a tough one. The Raiders obviously came in ready to play. They had all the gaps covered. They got off blocks well. They were ready."
Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson
"You talk about rivalries - we had a rival today on our hands. It was a fistfight throughout the game."
Raiders coach Bill Callahan
DID YOU KNOW?:
The announced attendance of 67,968 is the second largest regular-season crowd at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. According to media reports, the stadium is half-filled with Raiders fans. "Disgusting," Chargers strong safety Rodney Harrison tells reporters after the game. "We're the team at home and 75 percent of the stadium seems like it's their fans. It's ridiculous." The Qualcomm attendance record for a regular-season football game is 68,274 for the Chargers-Packers game in 1999, but the stadium attendance record for football is 73,302 for Super Bowl XXII in 1998.
The Raiders' Zack Crockett (32) celebrates after scoring a third-quarter touchdown against the Chargers.
By Associated Press
