*Rivers, defense lead Chargers to emotional win*
By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - If the San Diego Chargers were distracted by the recent wildfires in the region, they showed no signs of it.
Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns - two to tight end Antonio Gates - as the Chargers prevailed in all phases of the game, cruising to their fourth straight win with an easy 35-10 triumph over the anemic Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie paced the defense with two interceptions, returning one for a score, for the Chargers, who scored all their points in the first half. Cromartie also recovered a ball snapped into the end zone on a punt play for another score.
"It was a lot of fun," Cromartie said. "It was a big game for everyone to come out and show their support. We tried to just give back to the community."
With a smokey haze hanging over Qualcomm Stadium at kickoff, the game got under way as scheduled, as the decision was made to play in a venue that housed thousands of evacuees who had fled their homes as fire swept across the county.
"It was important for the organization (to play in San Diego), but I think it was more important for San Diego - our people, our fans," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "I think that was big and was a very positive thing."
San Diego players spent most of the week practicing in Phoenix, and while many were evacuated, none suffered property damage from the fires.
"Obviously, it was a very rough, very difficult week for everyone in San Diego," Turner said. "I'm just very, very proud of the way (the team) handled everything, in terms of the distraction. Going over there to Arizona, it would've been easy to not be prepared. Obviously, our team was prepared."
The team spoke of providing entertainment to a region devastated by the destruction, and got off to a quick start doing just that.
Rivers opened the scoring when he hit Gates with a 49-yard strike with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter and the Chargers never looked back, building a 35-3 advantage at the half.
LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 90 yards on 17 carries without a score.
"It was pretty special just getting back here and playing again," Tomlinson said. "There was so much that went on during the week in the community. I thought this was just a special atmosphere for our fans to come out and be as loud as they were, and for us to kind of be entertainment for four hours or so and take their minds off of all the things they've been through this week."
Newly acquired wide receiver Chris Chambers made an impact in his debut for San Diego, pulling in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rivers with 2:31 left in the half.
"It was a good win," Rivers said. "It's been a tough week, really not for us. It looked like a big burden on us, but it really wasn't. For the community, what they went through and the people who did lose their homes or were injured, hopefully this three-and-a-half hours can help."
Houston's offense was as overmatched as its defense.
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub completed 11-of-18 passes for 77 yards with two interceptions before getting knocked out of the game on a penalty-inducing blow to the helmet by San Diego linebacker Stephen Cooper.
"It's about as bad as it can be," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "We look like a tired, slow football team out there right now. The mistakes that we're making on a week-to-week basis, they're just unacceptable. It's like the floodgates just open. We start making mistakes with the ball, and everything just starts snowballing."
Sage Rosenfels relieved Schaub and went 17-of-27 with one touchdown and two interceptions, leading a 94-yard scoring drive capped off by a 28-yard strike to Joel Dreesen that made the score 35-10 with 4:40 remaining.
"It was embarrassing," Rosenfels said. "That's the only word I can think of, embarrassing. This is not the first-class team that coach Kubiak talks about. As a player, that was embarrassing."
Ron Dayne rushed for 47 yards on 17 carries for Houston, which lost its third straight contest.
