CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- LaDainian Tomlinson spared Marty Schottenheimer further heartbreak in Cleveland.
Tomlinson ran for 200 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and picked up several key first downs as the San Diego Chargers held off the Cleveland Browns, 26-20, to become the last NFL team to win a game this season.
Schottenheimer coached the Browns for 4 1/2 seasons from 1984-88, going 44-27. He twice led them to the AFC championship game only to see the Denver Broncos break his team's heart, once on a 98-yard drive engineered by John Elway and once when Browns Ernest Byner fumbled inside the 5 while running for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.
Mired in a nine-game losing streak dating to last season, the Chargers (1-5) took a 23-6 lead into the fourth quarter before Cleveland's Kelly Holcomb replaced an ineffective Tim Couch.
Holcomb led the Browns to two quick touchdowns, pulling them within 23-20 on a one-yard pass to tight end Darnell Sanders with 11:40 to play following a fumble by San Diego kickoff returner Tim Dwight.
"We fought our way back in and made a game out of it," Cleveland coach Butch Davis said. "We gave ourselves a possession in which we had a chance to maybe drive down and take the lead in the ballgame."
But Tomlinson had seven carries for 48 yards on a drive that consumed nearly eight minutes and culminated in a 32-yard field goal by Steve Christie with 3:44 left.
After Kevin Johnson dropped a fourth-down pass from Holcomb at the San Diego 40 with 2:15 to go, Tomlinson had six carries to help the Chargers bring the clock down to 25 seconds. Cleveland (3-4) could not get past its 43 before the clock expired.
"Any player wants to have the ball in their hands at crucial parts of the game," Tomlinson said. "That is just part of being a football player. You want (your teammates) to depend on you."
"He is a very special player and a very special person," said Schottenheimer. "He has as big a heart as any player I've ever been around. With guys like that, you really don't need to do much coaching. There aren't enough adjectives I can use to describe LaDainian."
Tomlinson became the second player to rush for 200 yards in a game against the Browns this season. Baltimore's Jamal Lewis had an NFL-record 295 yards in Week Two.
"He is the best back we have faced all year, probably the best we will face all year," Browns linebacker Andra Davis said. "He is the real deal."
Prior to Christie's final field goal, Tomlinson was given a breather after helping San Diego drive to the Cleveland 8. Lorenzo Neal had two rushes to the 1, but the Chargers faked a handoff to Tomlinson on third down and Brees was sacked on a rollout to his left by Courtney Brown, angering the running back.
"I was just frustrated in the heat of the battle," Tomlinson said. "I wanted to score that touchdown and knew that if we scored that touchdown, it was over."
"I made a bad call," Schottenheimer admitted. "If I had it to do (it) over again, I would do exactly the opposite." San Diego's Drew Brees, the lowest-rated passer in the NFL, completed only 9-of-18 passes for 74 yards and an interception.
"As sloppy as it was at times, it feels good to get that first W," Brees said. "Everyone is coming in here smiling and we feel good about ourselves."
Couch went 13-of-24 for 102 yards and two picks. Holcomb was 11-of-19 for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
"I didn't play well, absolutely not," Couch said. "It was not a very good game on my part and I tried to do too much and got us in trouble."
The Chargers, who got field goals of 44 and 50 yards from Christie in the first quarter, opened up a 13-0 advantage on a 38-yard interception return by Kwamie Lassiter off an errant pass from Couch with 5:27 left in the half.
"It was a horrible waste of an effort in the first half," Davis said. "We played about as inconsistently and poorly as you can possibly play in several different areas."
San Diego held a 13-6 edge before Tomlinson's 70-yard scamper 2:33 into the second half, which came on the first play from scrimmage after a 42-yard field goal by Cleveland's Phil Dawson.
Christie's third field goal of the contest, a 42-yarder with 2:57 left in the quarter, made it 23-6.
