Gameday: Chargers vs Raiders

NFL.com: Raiders at Chargers | Your Take

Postgame Notes

• LaDainian Tomlinson tied his career high with four rushing touchdowns today, the 103rd, 104th, 105th and 106th of his career…on the NFL’s all-time list, he moved past John Riggins (fifth all-time, 104 TDs, 1971-85) and into a tie with Jim Brown (106 TDs, 1957-65) for fourth place on the league’s all-time rushing TDs list.
• Tomlinson also raised his career TD total (rushing and receiving) to 118, also moving past Riggins (116) on this list and into 10th place…Dallas’ Terrell Owens (120 total touchdowns, including one today), ranks ahead of Tomlinson in ninth.
• Tomlinson also had four rushing touchdowns Oct. 15, 2006 at San Francisco and again on Nov. 12, 2006 at Cincinnati.
• Tomlinson now has at least one rushing TD in three straight home games (regular season) and nine of the last 11.
• This was Tomlinson’s first multi-touchdown (rushing or receiving) game of the season and the 32nd of his career (regular season)…the Chargers improved to 28-4 when he scores at least two touchdowns…it’s also the 27th game of his career with multiple rushing touchdowns (regular season) and the Chargers improve to 25-2 in games when he scores at least two rushing TDs.
• Tomlinson rushed for 198 yards today, his 40th career 100-yard game (regular season)…it was the sixth-best rushing performance of his career and second-best against Oakland…in 13 career games against the Raiders, Tomlinson has now rushed for 1,653 yards and 16 touchdowns…today marked his eighth career 100-yard game against the Raiders.
• Tomlinson added 16 yards as a receiver to finish the afternoon with 214 total yards from scrimmage…it was his 12th career 200-yard game and San Diego improve to 11-1 in games when No. 21 racks up more than 200 total yards.
• Drayton Florence recorded his first interception of the season in the first quarter…it was the 9th pick of his career…on the same drive, Florence recorded a tackle for loss (-2 yards) on the play before the interception (his first of the season) and Igor Olshansky batted down a pass on the first play of the drive at the line of scrimmage, his first pass defensed of the year.
• Tomlinson scored his second touchdown of the day after the Florence interception…the Chargers have now scored 41 points this season following turnovers, including 24 in the last two weeks.
• Luis Castillo ended an Oakland first-quarter drive with a 10-yard sack…his first of the season and 11.5 for his career.
• They dynamic duo of Shawne Merriman (2.5) and Shaun Phillips (2.0) both recorded multiple sacks today…it’s the second time in their careers that they’ve recorded multiple sacks in the same game…the other time was the 2006 season opener (Sept. 11) at Oakland when Merriman had three and Phillips two…this was Merriman’s 10th-career multi-sack game and San Diego’s record in such games is now 9-1…Phillips has at least one sack now in 13 of the last 20 games that he’s started…as a team, the Bolts finished today’s game with a season-high six sacks.
• Mike Scifres landed all four of his punts today inside the 20-yard line, his first punts I-20 since Sept. 23 at Green Bay.
• The Chargers reported four injuries from today’s game: center Nick Hardwick (foot sprain), wide receiver Buster Davis (ankle), defensive end Jacques Cesaire (ankle) and guard Mike Goff (thumb).

Pre-Game Notes

Seven days removed from a frustrating home loss to Kansas City that left them at the bottom of the AFC West standings, the San Diego Chargers now return home from a dominating 41-3 win in Denver to take on their arch rivals, the Oakland Raiders, with first place in the division on the line. The stage will be set on Sunday, Oct. 14 with Qualcomm Stadium the site and 1:15 p.m. PDT the kickoff time.

This “Raider Week” is shaping up as one of the biggest in recent years. Not only is the division lead on the line, but it’s also the first opportunity for Bolts head coach Norv Turner to face the team that he coached from 2004-05. It’s also Alumni Day in San Diego and for the first time ever, the Chargers will don their new-look Powder Blue jerseys.

For the last 3 ½ years, the Chargers have dominated the series against the Raiders. They’ve won seven straight and outscored the Silver and Black by a combined 195-83. That includes wins of 27-0 in Oakland and 21-14 in San Diego in 2006. It’s San Diego’s longest active win streak against any one opponent. It’s also tied for the second-most games the Chargers have won consecutively against any one opponent (Buffalo, 1967-79). The Bolts won eight straight over Seattle from 1977-81 and the Houston Oilers from 1963-67.

The Bolts have ruled the roost lately in the AFC West, winning two of the last three division titles while going 14-6 in intra-division games since 2004, including 7-3 at home. Oakland, which leads the division at 2-2, sits in sole possession of first place in the AFC West for the first time since the end of the 2002 season. Oakland started the season 0-2, but comes into Sunday’s game riding a two-game win streak with Ws over Cleveland and Miami.

The Chargers have a good opportunity ahead of them as they now only have to leave San Diego one time before the middle of November. The ensuing five-week stretch includes three home games (Oakland, Houston and Indianapolis), next week’s bye and only one road game at Minnesota on Nov. 4. The Chargers have won nine of their last 10 regular-season games at home.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

• Antonio Gates, the NFL’s leading receiver among tight ends in catches (40), yards (489) and third-down catches (17), has six career touchdown catches against the Raiders, including one each in the last three meetings…it’s his second-most touchdown catches against any individual opponent…Gates’ 405 yards against the Raiders are also his second-most against an opponent, but he’s only had one career 100-yard game vs. Oakland, recording 101 yards and a touchdown in a Week 10 game (Oct. 31) in San Diego…Gates already has three 100-yard games this season, including 113 yards on Sunday against Denver…his season-high for 100-yard games is four (2005)…Gates’ 11-career 100-yard games are the ninth-most in team history and the second-most by a tight end (Kellen Winslow, 26).

• Gates has racked up 3,833 receiving yards during his career, ninth-most in team history…he needs just 106 to tie Ronnie Harmon (3,939) for eighth on the team’s all-time list…Gates’ touchdown last Sunday against Denver was the 37th of his career, tied with Anthony Miller for sixth-most in team history…Gates needs four to equal Wes Chandler’s 41 for the fifth-most…Gates’ 305 career receptions are the ninth-highest total in team history leaving him 68 behind Chandler (373), the team’s eighth-leading pass catcher.

• LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for 1,455 yards against Oakland, the most yards he has recorded against any individual opponent…he’s also scored 12 rushing touchdowns against the Raiders in 12 career games…Tomlinson is averaging 121.3 rushing yards per game against Oakland and has recorded seven of his 39 career (regular-season) 100-yard games against the Raiders, his most 100-yard games against any single opponent…only two of the seven however have come in San Diego, with the other five being recorded in Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum…Tomlinson had the best rushing day of his career against the Raiders in 2003, racking up 243 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 win in the ’03 season finale.

• LT has also been a thorn in the Raiders’ side through the air…as a receiver, he’s caught 46 passes for 230 yards and a pair of scores…his 46 catches against them are his second-most against a single opponent…as a passer, Tomlinson has thrown seven career touchdown passes, second only to Walter Payton among non-QBs…three of Tomlinson’s seven career TD passes have come at the expense of the Raiders.

• Tomlinson is looking to run his streak of home games with a rushing touchdown to three…he’s scored at least one rushing TD in eight of the Bolts’ last 10 regular-season home games…LT has six rushing TDs against the Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium…he comes into Sunday’s game with 102 career rushing touchdowns, needing two to tie John Riggins (104) for fifth all time...he also comes in with 114 total touchdowns, again needing two more to tie Riggins (116) for 10th on the all-time list.

• Shaun Phillips (3.5) and Shawne Merriman (3.0), the Bolts two leading sackers, both had big days against Oakland in 2006…Phillips combined for 3.5 sacks against the Raiders in ’06, with two sacks in the season opener and 1.5 in the Week 11 contest, while Merriman had three, the second-highest single-game total of his career, in the ’06 opener…since becoming a starter at the start of the ’06 season, Phillips has at least one sack in 12 of the 19 games that he started…he missed two games with a calf injury last season…Merriman has started 27 games since midway through his rookie season of 2005, recording at least one sack in 16 of his 27 career starts…since Merriman joined the Bolts in 2005, the Bolts as a team have 21 sacks against Oakland (5.3 per game)…Merriman has nine career games with multiple sacks, including the ’06 opener against Oakland…the Bolts are 8-1 in games when #56 records at least two sacks.

• Nate Kaeding comes into Sunday’s game with 393 points, needing just seven points to reach 400 for his career.

CHARGERS-RAIDERS SERIES HISTORY

    The San Diego Chargers will face their arch-rivals, the Oakland Raiders, this Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. The Bolts have won seven straight over Oakland, their longest win streak in the series and their longest active series win streak against any of their opponents. It’s also tied for the second-most games the Chargers have won consecutively against any one opponent (Buffalo, 1967-79). The Bolts won eight straight over Seattle from 1977-81 and the Houston Oilers from 1963-67.
    Oakland leads the all-time series 55-38-2 and holds an 18-29-1 series edge in games played in San Diego.   

CHARGERS-RAIDERS CONNECTIONS

• Chargers Owner Alex Spanos resides in Stockton, Calif…President and CEO Dean Spanos was born in Stockton and graduated from the University of the Pacific...Executive Vice President Michael Spanos also graduated from Pacific and resides in Stockton with his family.

• Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner served as the Raiders’ head coach from 2004-05…Turner grew up in Martinez, CA in the Bay Area.

• Chargers Wide Receivers Coach James Lofton played for the Los Angeles Raiders from 1987-88.

• Raiders Owner Al Davis coached the Chargers defensive ends from 1960-62 and from 1957-59 he was the line coach at USC.

• Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin and Chargers QB Billy Volek were teammates at Fresno State…both played quarterback for the Bulldogs.

• Raiders defensive backs coach Darren Perry played for the Chargers in 2000…Player personnel director Rich Snead spent two seasons as a scout with the Chargers.

• Chargers tight ends coach Clancy Barone coached with Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and offensive line coach Tom Cable in Atlanta…Barone and Knapp also worked together at Sacramento State…Chargers defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan were on the same staff with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994…Raiders strength and conditioning coach Jeff Fish served as Chargers strength and conditioning coach Jeff Hurd’s assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1999-00… Raiders’ tight ends coach Kelly Skipper was Lorenzo Neal’s position coach at Fresno State…Skipper remained on staff at Fresno State through Volek’s tenure with the club.

• Raiders RB Dominic Rhodes and Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson are both from the Waco, Texas area and played together in a Texas All-Star game in 1997.

• Chargers LS David Binn is from San Mateo, CA and attended Cal-Berkeley…FB Lorenzo Neal is from Hanford, CA and attended Fresno State…DE Igor Olshansky is from San Francisco and attended St. Ignatius High School…WR Kassim Osgood is from Salinas, CA and began his collegiate career at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo…TE coach Clancy Barone is from San Andreas, CA and coached at Sacramento State.

• Raiders special teams coordinator Brian Schneider is a San Diego native…tight ends coach Kelly Skipper hails from Brawley, CA…offensive line coach Tom Cable was a graduate assistant at San Diego State in 1989…Raiders RB Justin Fargas is from Sherman Oaks, CA and attended Notre Dame HS and USC…CB Nnamdi Asomugha is from Los Angeles and attended Narbonne HS…LB Kirk Morrison was a two-time All-America at San Diego State.

• Chargers LB Marques Harris and Raiders QB Andrew Walter were classmates at Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction, Colorado and the two still remain close friends…Chargers SS Clinton Hart and Raiders DE Derrick Burgess were teammates with the Philadelphia Eagles…Chargers T Roman Oben and Raiders T Cornell Green played together with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…Oben and Warren Sapp were also teammates with the Bucs.

• Chargers C Nick Hardwick and LB Shaun Phillips played at Purdue with Raiders S Stuart Schweigert…K Nate Kaeding and TE Scott Chandler played at Iowa with Raiders T Robert Gallery…Chargers LB Marques Harris and Raiders DE Tyler Brayton at Colorado…Chargers TE/WR Legedu Naanee and Raiders CB/KR Chris Carr at Boise State...Chargers S Eric Weddle and Raiders TE John Madsen at Utah…Chargers WR Buster Davis and Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell at LSU…Chargers DE Ryon Bingham and Raiders CB Fabian Washington at Nebraska.