LaDainian Tomlinson took over the NFL rushing lead, got his fourth straight 100-yard game and called it a night.
Tomlinson had a 17-yard scoring run among his 107 yards as he led the American Football Conference (AFC) West champion San Diego Chargers to a 23-3 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night. He sat out the bulk of the second half.
The Chargers (10-5) won their fifth straight game and for the ninth time in 11 games. They need simply to win at Oakland on Sunday to secure the AFC's No. 3 playoff seed.
PHOTO: AP
Tomlinson scampered into the lead with 1,418 yards in his pursuit of his second straight rushing title. His route was made easier when Pittsburgh's Willie Parker (1,316) broke his right lower leg on Thursday night, finishing his season.
L.T.'s closest pursuer is Minnesota rookie Adrian Peterson, who has 1,305 yards after being held to just 27 yards on nine carries in a loss to Washington on Sunday night. Peterson set the NFL single-game record of 296 yards against San Diego on Nov. 4.
The Chargers held the Broncos (6-9) without a touchdown in the season series. The Bolts beat the Broncos 41-3 at Denver on Oct. 7 to end a three-game losing streak.
Tomlinson, last year's NFL MVP, had only four of his 19 carries in the second half.
He was on the sideline for San Diego's final drive of the half, then carried four times during an 11-play, 84-yard drive capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Philip Rivers to Chris Chambers.
Tomlinson came out and was checked by trainer James Collins, and didn't return. Tomlinson played only the first half of San Diego's 51-14 win over Detroit eight days earlier. He said he felt a hamstring grab on a long run late in the second quarter of that game.
Tomlinson scored late in the first quarter for a 10-0 lead. This is his fourth straight season with 15 rushing touchdowns. He set NFL records last year with 31 touchdowns, 28 of them rushing, and led the league with 1,815 yards.
Broncos safety John Lynch drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty -- and the wrath of the crowd -- after tackling Tomlinson following a 2-yard run in the first quarter. Tomlinson's helmet came off and Lynch took it with both hands and threw it about 10 yards.
A few plays later, Lynch went out of his way to go over to Tomlinson and shake his hand. Lynch went to high school in San Diego and won the Super Bowl on this field in January 2003 while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was a rough night for Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, who was born in Santa Claus, Indiana.
If the Chargers get the No. 3 playoff seed, that would mean a trip to Indianapolis rather than New England for the divisional round -- providing, of course, they win their wild-card game. San Diego is on a four-game postseason losing streak.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS