SAN DIEGO — Stunned by two gut-wrenching losses, Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and the rest of the Chargers raced past nemesis Brett Favre and the Jets for a 48-29 victory Monday night in a wild game befitting two original AFL teams.
“It didn’t matter how any of us felt. We were going to do what we had to do to win this game,” Tomlinson said. “We needed this bad. If we lost this game, we go 0-3 and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Rivers threw for 250 yards and tied his career high with three touchdown passes, Tomlinson scored his first two TDs of the season and San Diego finally got back at Favre after all these years. They sacked him three times and intercepted him twice, including a 52-yard return for a score by all-pro cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
Favre always seemed to come up big on Monday nights with Green Bay. This night, though, he finally lost to the Chargers after beating them five straight times dating to 1993.
Tomlinson scored on a 2-yard leap to give the Chargers a 38-14 lead in the third quarter. He scored on another 2-yard run late in the fourth quarter to tie Cris Carter for sixth place on the all-time touchdowns list with 131.
Favre rolled his left ankle early in the third quarter.
“It felt like I got shot in the leg or something,” said Favre, who played all but the Jets’ final possession. “They took some X-rays and I think it’s OK.”
