Rivers leads the Charge

Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns passes and LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for two more to lift the San Diego Chargers to a 48-29 rout of the New York Jets on Monday night.

The San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers starred in his side's won over the New York Jets.
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NEW YORK // Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns passes and LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for two more to lift the San Diego Chargers to a 48-29 rout of the New York Jets on Monday night. The Chargers rebounded from two losses to score 31 first-half points and send the Jets to their second loss in three games under their new veteran quarterback Brett Favre.

Rivers completed 19 of 25 passes for 250 yards, and after an early interception by David Barrett was returned for a touchdown to put the Jets 7-0 ahead, he took control to put the Chargers to a 31-14 half-time lead. The quarterback threw scoring passes to Mike Tolbert, Chris Chambers and Antonio Gates to put San Diego well and truly in the driving seat. Rivers admitted that the match had been a must-win for his side, saying: "We needed to win a game. I think you saw what this team can do and the big plays we can make."

Tomlinson had his first two touchdown runs of the season, and ran for 67 yards on 26 carries as he continues his recovery from a toe injury. He was also relieved that the Chargers, one of the Super Bowl favourites, had finally got their first victory under their belt. "If we lost this game we go 0-3 and I don't know what's going to happen," Tomlinson said. "For us to get that first win, there is a sigh of relief."

Favre wound up completing 30 of 42 passes for 271 yards for the Jets. He also threw for three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice and sacked four times. The Jets scored 15 points in the final quarter, but never got within two touchdowns of the lead in the second half. "They were very active defensively," Favre admitted. " This ruffled us a little bit protection-wise. I thought they schemed very good."

A disappointing night for the experienced quarterback also saw him roll his ankle in the third quarter and was limping after the game, but he does not think the injury is serious and he should be back in action quickly. Laveranues Coles had six receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown and Thomas Jones ran for 37 yards on 10 attempts for the Jets, who lost for the second straight week. * Reuters