Humbled by his place on the Greatest Chargers of all-time, a group that was introduced prior to Sunday’s game as part of the teams’ 50th Anniversary weekend, tight end 
“That was my way of saying thanks for selecting me and thanking those guys for paving the way for me and my teammates,” Gates said proudly.
It was a big afternoon for Gates. Each of his catches went for 12 yards or more, and in addition to his seven receptions, he drew a pass interference penalty near the goal line that could have resulted in a third score.
The Chargers moved Gates around and saw Kansas City attempt to cover him with safeties, linebackers and cornerbacks. He made impact plays regardless of who was running with him.
“There are some things we are continually trying to create for Gates so we can give teams different looks and get him different matchups,” Head Coach Turner said. “He thrives upon it. He’s such a great route runner. You look at him and he runs wide receiver routes, he runs back routes and tight end routes. He’s just awfully impressive.”
Sunday was Gates’ second 100-yard performance of the season. While Kansas City focused keeping
“It’s hard for a defense to pick one thing,” Gates said. “That’s plan, make you decide what you want to take away and then pick you apart from there. Guys that are opening up the middle for myself, taking a lot of pressure off of me. Our receivers have been playing outstanding and, fortunately, you have to cover them. It gives me an opportunity.”
Gates’ two touchdown catches gave him 55 on his career, fourth-most in NFL history among tight ends. He began the day fifth but passed former Carolina Panther Wesley Walls Sunday.
More memories
“It was a special day,” Tomlinson said.
He enters Week 13 just 22 yards behind Marshall Faulk for ninth all time and trails the legendary Jim Brown by 45 yards for eighth. Brown serves as an advisor to the Cleveland Browns and will likely be at next week’s Browns-Chargers game.
Tomlinson’s two touchdowns Sunday marked his 35th multi-touchdown game of his career. That’s the second most in NFL history behind Smith’s 36.
Homecoming game
Former Chargers wide receiver Chris Chambers, who joined the Chiefs four weeks ago after being released by the Bolts, led Kansas City with seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. It was a productive afternoon for Chambers and a fun one for
“Chris is a great receiver,” Jammer said. “It was kind of strange seeing him in that red uniform but I enjoyed getting to compete with him.”
A week ago Chambers set up Kansas City’s game-winning field goal with a 61 yard catch against the Steelers, and he caught a 54-yard touchdown in his Chiefs debut. His longest catch Sunday went for 14 yards.
“They didn’t get him deep like they wanted to because I know CC, too,” Jammer said. “I knew he was going to try to double move me. I wasn’t going to let CC beat me deep.”
Keeping him clean
As expected,
“We’re asking a lot of him to go over there and play right tackle,” Turner said. “They put their best rusher on him a number of times. I thought he played real well. There are some things he needs to get batter at just like everyone else but he’s getting coached hard by a bunch of guys. He’s got a chance of being a great player over there.”
Dombrowski and the offensive line didn’t give up a single sack Sunday, the second-consecutive week in which opponents have failed to get to Rivers in the pocket.
Special recognition
The Greatest Chargers of all time drew loud rounds of applause Sunday as they were introduced to the fans prior to kickoff. Of the 49 living members of the group, 42 were on hand. Junior Seau and John Carney were unable to make it because they’re still playing, and Gill Byrd is a coach with the Chicago Bears. Rodney Harrison couldn’t attend due to his responsibilities on NBC.
Turner said that having the special group of players, which included six Pro Football Hall of Famers, had strong meaning to him.
“To me it was an opportunity to express to our players what it means to play in this league, what it means to play for a long time,” Turner said. “Those guys aren’t in it because they had one or two good years. Those are guys who had careers in the NFL.”
Quick Hits
-Rivers completed 75 percent of his passes Sunday (21-of-28) for his third-consecutive game with a completion rate of at least 75 percent. It was his third-straight game without an interception.
- The Chargers’ 43 points were the most scored by an NFL team this week.
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- After a perfect November (5-0), the Chargers welcome December. They’ve never lost under Turner in the final month of the year (9-0), and Rivers is 14-0 in December as a starter.
-The Chargers reported two new injuries: safety
