San Diego – Members of the San Diego Chargers’ offense raced to the southwest corner of the Qualcomm Stadium field at 4:14 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, ready to celebrate LaDainian Tomlinson’s record 29th touchdown. And if it seemed odd the linemen got there first, tackle Marcus McNeill offered a pretty good explanation.
“He was taking orders for McDonald’s tonight,” McNeill said, smiling. “I had three double cheeseburgers, a large fry, a large drink, two apple pies.”
Regular or diet soda?
“No diet,” McNeill said. “We just won the AFC West…. I get to celebrate a little bit.”
He wasn’t the only one. Tomlinson had told them he wanted everyone to share in his joy. So Mike Goff ran over and hugged Tomlinson, followed quickly by fellow guard Kris Dielman. The others weren’t far behind.
“Probably the proudest day I’ve ever had,” center Nick Hardwick said after San Diego’s 48-20 victory over Denver.
“It was great. It was something I’ll never forget. I was just about ready to jump out of my skin,” Goff said.
“A great day for not only us but the entire city of San Diego,” tackle Shane Olivea said.
“Unbelievable,” Dielman said. “It couldn’t happen to a better dude.”
It was the type of moment that had the linemen, as well as fullback Lorenzo Neal, thinking beyond the day itself.
“To me it’s just fun to say I played with the greatest,” Neal said. “I played with the guy who rewrote part of the record book. … He gets the ball a lot, but if you don’t have that nose to get in the end zone.
“You know, Gale Sayers played the game. Emmitt Smith played the game. Walter Payton played the game. Tony Dorsett played the game. Barry Sanders played the game. Franco Harris. You’ve got to realize what this guy is accomplishing. It’s amazing.”
It didn’t appear likely the record would fall Sunday, not after touchdown No. 28 came with less than four minutes remaining in the game. But on the sideline, the offensive players hadn’t given up hope.
“Guys came up to us,” defensive end Luis Castillo said, “and said: ‘Give us one more touch. We’re going to get it for him.”‘
On Denver’s second play, linebacker Shawne Merriman forced a fumble and recovered it at the Broncos 7. The offense then knew it was about to be part of history.
“Whether he had to fly in, whether he had to jump in, whether he had to crawl in, he was going to get in there,” Neal said.
More than one reporter wondered what would have happened if the Chargers had not given the ball to Tomlinson in that situation. What if the play was for Neal to carry the ball?
Said Neal, “If they would have given me the ball, I promise I would have fell on the 1-yard line.”
Instead they ran 50 Power.Dielman said even the Broncos knew it was coming. And the Chargers didn’t deny it.
“We told them it was coming,” he said. “They knew. They were saying it, and we were agreeing with it.”
Tomlinson said he’s “90 percent” sure he knows how he plans to reward his offensive line, but Neal summed up the big players’ feelings.
“We’re doing our job,” he said. “I don’t think anybody should want anything from this guy. We all get paid to do our jobs.”
