CHARGERS TOP EAGLES TO TAKE OVER AFC WEST LEAD

LaDanien Tomlinson found out before the game that his wife is pregnant, and used the motivation to put together one of his best performances of the season.  ‘LT’ ran for a season high 96 yards and two touchdowns as the San Diego Chargers thumped the Philadelphia Eagles 31-23.  The win moved San Diego to first place in the AFC West with a record of 6-3.  The Eagles lost for the second straight week and dropped to 5-4.

The Chargers also took the victory against the NFL pointspread easily covering as a -1 home favorite.  The Chargers are now 4-5 on the year against the spread, while the Eagles are 5-4 against the number.  The 54 points scored went OVER the posted total of 47.  Philadelphia has gone OVER in 7 of 9 games this season, while San Diego has a NFL totals record of 5-3-1.

After the contest, Tomlinson talked about his pregame surprise:

"I don't know if I want to talk about it. My wife is pregnant. I found out before the game. She left me a gift in my locker. It said, 'Open immediately.' I thought it was a necklace. It was a pregnancy test."

In addition to securing the victory, Tomlinson moved past Franco Harris for 12th on the NFL’s all time rushing list.  His touchdowns put him ahead of Marcus Allen for third in the all team tally for that category:

"It's kind of surreal. I grew up watching all those guys. It's mind-boggling that I am third all-time."

While Tomlinson’s numbers are down this season, he insisted that he’s still a factor:

"I'm still effective. That's all that counts. Still finding ways to help this team win."

The Chargers’ ascension to the top of the division has been helped by the Denver Broncos’ freefall.  Just one month ago, San Diego was 3 ½ games behind then undefeated Denver.  Phillip Rivers talked about how quickly their fortunes changed:

"We didn't know it would happen this fast. We believed we could get ourselves back in it."

Philadelphia moved the ball well, but came away with field goals in three trips inside the Chargers’ ten yard line.  Eagles’ QB Donovan McNabb said this wasn’t acceptable:

"When you have those opportunities to score we have to pound it in there. We definitely tried, but credit to them, but they stopped us, obviously, from running the ball into the end zone."

The Chargers now face the Broncos in a revenge spot at Mile High Stadium on Sunday.  The game is currently off the board due to the ‘questionable’ status of Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton.  San Diego will follow that up by hosting the Kansas City Chiefs with a road game against the Cleveland Browns one week later.  The Eagles play at Chicago this Sunday, with Philadelphia a -3 road favorite and the total set at 45.  They’ll play the Washington Redskins at home the following Sunday before heading to the Georgia Dome for a game against the Atlanta Falcons.