K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune The Chargers' Legedu Naanee breaks loose from two 49ers defenders on an 8-yard reception at Qualcomm Stadium.

Just more than a week stands between now and the most anticipated Chargers season in maybe forever.

“We've all been waiting for this,” linebacker Shawne Merriman said last night after the Chargers beat the San Francisco 49ers 16-13 at Qualcomm Stadium to finish the preseason with three victories in four games.

Once this one was over, it was over.

“You just flip the switch,” coach Norv Turner said. “It's the regular season, and I'm preparing for our opener. We've gotten done what we need to get done in the preseason, and it's time to go.”

Turner's postgame comments to his team were about the same. And they were well-received.

“It's time to put everything in perspective,” tight end Antonio Gates said. “No more looking at guys in odd numbers lining up at positions. It's guys you hear about now. It's the guys you line up with and try to win a championship.”

Lest anyone get the idea last night was devoid of excitement, there was the wave in the third quarter in which some Chargers participated from the bench.

There were also a couple of monumental hits by linebacker Tim Dobbins and six turnovers forced by the Chargers, including Eric Weddle's second and third interceptions of the preseason and Clinton Hart's second.

Still, Philip Rivers, Gates and, of course, LaDainian Tomlinson never left the sideline. Nor did Michael Turner, resting his sprained right ankle but walking fine after his first running session earlier in the day.

Rivers was more involved throughout the game than most starters. He wore a headset and often stalked the field a yard or two inside the playing surface, as if he were a coach. He did, in fact, relay plays to the quarterback.

“It was a lot of fun,” Rivers said. “It keeps you really involved. Charlie (Whitehurst) calls in the plays normally in the games. So getting to call them in, I still can get some work like I'm in the huddle. It's a lot of fun being right there in the action.”

Nothing that happened had much bearing on what will happen, but the starters (most of them) got to break a sweat, and then it was time for the kids to play. All in all, Turner accomplished what he wanted to.

“We got the second group going, and they got a lot of plays in,” Turner said.

Billy Volek started in place of Rivers, and Whitehurst was quarterbacking before six minutes had expired in the second quarter. Also by that point, undrafted rookie Eldra Buckley was making his first appearance in a game at running back.

Buckley, at best the Chargers' sixth running back but a solid special teams player, was among the players giving it one last audition for a spot on the practice squad.

Another player trying to get a job is linebacker Jyles Tucker, who raced around the outside to get a crucial third-down sack that forced San Francisco to settle for a field goal in the second quarter. He also forced a fumble with a tackle on a fourth-quarter punt.

There are, in fact, a plethora of good young linebackers on the roster – too many to be there come tomorrow afternoon, when the roster must be cut down to 53.

Undrafted rookie Nick Roach had a sack and was in the backfield a lot. Anthony Waters, the third-round pick whose knee has kept him inactive much of the summer, made some plays. Seventh-round pick Brandon Siler played well.

Inside linebacker Matt Wilhelm played for the first time this preseason, going three series with the rest of the starters. The calf strain that sidelined him the previous three games has healed sufficiently for him to make his first NFL start in the Sept. 9 opener against the Chicago Bears.

One thing the Chargers might be troubled by was the fact it took three drives for the first-team offensive line to get 12 plays in and earn its rest. The starters went three-and-out twice, albeit with their three top skill players watching rather than helping.

“We missed two third downs early that we had a chance to make,” Turner said. “You have got to give yourself those chances.”

Hart's interception led to the Chargers' first score, a 29-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding with 36 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Chargers abbreviated the 49ers' next drive too. With starter Alex Smith still in the game, Dobbins ran through the line and knocked the ball from the quarterback's grasp. Jacques Cesaire fell on it at the 26.

The Chargers moved to the 4 before settling for another Kaeding field goal, this one from 22 yards.

Another 29-yarder by Kaeding 4½ minutes into the second half provided the deciding points.

Kevin Acee: (619) 293-1857; kevin.acee@uniontrib.com