K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
LaDainian Tomlinson plunges past a pylon through a corner of the end zone ahead of Tennessee's Reynaldo Hill, scoring one of his two second-quarter touchdowns.
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Understand this: The Chargers knew they were going to win yesterday against the Tennessee Titans, same as they knew going in they were going to beat the Oakland Raiders in the season opener.
Now, two dominating victories into a schedule that is about to get tougher, having manhandled the Titans 40-7 at Qualcomm Stadium, they know what is behind them and what is ahead.
“We're very cautious, and everybody in this locker room understands that,” LaDainian Tomlinson said postgame. “We're 2-0. That's great. But look who we got the next two games. We've got Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two of the toughest teams in the National Football League. That's where our test is going to be.”
The Chargers have a bye this week, then travel to Baltimore before coming home to face the defending Super Bowl champion.
Looking back, the two teams they have beaten have also lost their other game. Neither Tennessee nor Oakland is expected to be even close to .500 by season's end.
“You can't kick a dog when they're down,” fullback Lorenzo Neal said. “You've got to realize who you're playing. We've played the Raiders – new coach, new scheme, new personnel. Tennessee – new quarterback, team going through a rebuilding. So don't think we're as good as it might appear.
“We're going to have some tests. You'll see the test against Baltimore. You want to measure greatness, come talk to me after Baltimore, because you've got to realize who we played. Not to disrespect them or discredit our team, but it is what it is.”
Where to start with this one?
The Chargers had the ball for more than 38½ minutes.
Their defense was overwhelming again, coming within three minutes, nine seconds of a second consecutive shutout. The Titans got 139 of their 218 yards in the game's final 7:59, long past it mattering.
Tomlinson scored twice – surpassing 10,000 total yards and tying Lance Alworth as the franchise's all-time leading touchdown scorer in the process. Then he watched from the sideline as his replacement, Michael Turner, ran 13 times for 138 yards.
Philip Rivers had the handcuffs taken off and completed 25-of-35 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. His 11 first-quarter passes tied his total from his starting debut six days prior. By game's end, Rivers too was on the sideline, watching rookie Charlie Whitehurst run 14 yards for the Chargers' final score.
Nine different receivers caught passes – the most in a game in six years – including Vincent Jackson going way up to bring down the first touchdown of his career.
And, as left guard Kris Dielman said: “It could have been a lot worse.”
The Chargers outgained the Titans 250 yards to 15 in the first half.
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
Eric Parker soars high over Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck and onrushing safety Lamont Thompson to snare a 25-yard pass for a key first down in the Chargers' first touchdown drive.
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That might as well have been the score. But that might be giving both teams too much credit.
“We are a good, solid football team,” head coach Marty Schottenheimer said. “But we are nowhere near where we could be, if you look at the points we left on the field today.”
It was 20-0 at halftime. It could have been 35-0, should have been 31-0.
In the first quarter, Drayton Florence dropped an apparent interception at the Titans' 16 with nothing but grass between himself and the end zone.
Later in that quarter, Tomlinson overthrew a wide-open Antonio Gates in the end zone, and the Chargers settled for a 3-0 lead on the first of Nate Kaeding's four field goals.
A 23-0 lead eight minutes into the second half might have been 27-0. On third down, Gates appeared to pull in a 16-yard pass at the goal line but had it roll out.
A short while later, the Chargers went up 26-0 on a 44-yard yarder by Kaeding. The points followed Shawne Merriman's interception and return to the 29. Who knows if a touchdown might have been scored had the Chargers not been flagged for excessive celebration after Merriman's return and had to start at the 44.
“We kicked too many field goals,” Rivers said. “ . . . We need to get in the end zone.”
Certainly, this is nitpicking. Truthfully, Kaeding could have been the only one in blue and gold scoring yesterday, and it still would have been a blowout.
The seven points scored against the Chargers this season is the fewest they have allowed in a two-game stretch since 1986.
The defense forced Tennessee to go three-and-out its first four possessions and five times in all. In 23 drives this season, Chargers opponents have gone three-and-out 14 times.
Tennessee's first legitimate first down (and second overall) came in the third quarter. Two of its first five first downs were by penalty. The Titans crossed midfield for the first time with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
By the time the Titans started moving the ball, half the Chargers' starting defense was on the sideline.
While the defensive front seven that had nine sacks last week had zero, the Chargers got their first two interceptions. On the drive after Merriman walked into a Kerry Collins pass, cornerback Quentin Jammer jumped a route and held onto a pick.
Exuberant as always on the field, the Chargers defense was pragmatic afterward.
“We're going to get tested when we go up against teams that have pretty good offenses,” Merriman said.
“We play some good offenses coming up,” Jammer said. “In the next game (Oct. 1 at Baltimore), we're going to be matched with another great defense. We know down the road is our test.”
Kevin Acee: (619) 293-1857; kevin.acee@uniontrib.com
