JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune LaDainian Tomlinson, held under 10 yards rushing in the first half, breaks a 36-yard run in third quarter, moving his career rushing total over 10,000 yards.

Philip Rivers both spied the blitz and stood up to it before lofting the ball to an all-alone Antonio Gates for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon.

He looked to the sideline and pointed, then ran toward the end zone, punching the air again and again.

The boos that accompanied him off the field on the game's first three drives had given way to cheers.

It was one pass. And yesterday's 32-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens was one game. But the weight of 1,000 unfulfilled expectations had been lifted from the Chargers quarterback.

“It was kind of letting out a lot of stored-up excitement I haven't been able to do yet,” Rivers said. “ . . . It feels good. I'm not overly excited, because we're 6-5 and we still have a long way to go. But it does feel good, because it hasn't been a fun 10 games, to be honest.”

With Rivers for the first time this season taking a game into his own hands – or, rather, putting it into the hands of his receivers – the Chargers at last have reason to believe in the man who so badly wants to be their leader.

“When he's hot and rolling,” linebacker Shaun Phillips said, “he brings that energy and people can feel that energy coming from him, and we feed off that and play.” Against a team mired in an even more disappointing season than them, the Chargers played their most complete game.

Photo gallery Another lights-out production Ravens lose fifth in row, get to face Pats next Tim Sullivan's Report Card With Gates open, case is closed by offense Kaeding happy to finally be a factor Highlights by quarter Voice of the fans Statistics: Ravens vs. Chargers Tim Sullivan: Rivers rises to occasion, carries big share of Chargers' offense Nick Canepa: Those aren't boos you heard, it's fans chanting Leg-uh-dooo

The victory was not without worry. Against a better opponent, their early failures on offense and defensive mistakes throughout on third-and-long might have been costly.

But they did not turn the ball over, Nate Kaeding tied a career high with four field goals, Rivers completed 25 of his 35 passes, and only a fruitless 52-yard drive at game's end pushed the Ravens to 210 total yards.

“It feels like everyone is doing their part,” linebacker Matt Wilhelm said. “We feel as a whole, when everybody is doing their part, not many teams can beat us.”

Yesterday began with the home crowd restless, fed up with an offense that had fallen so far and had been the league's least productive over the previous four games.

When the Chargers' first possession ended in three plays, the boos heard so often in Qualcomm Stadium this season cascaded again. When six plays yielded a punt on the second drive, there were boos again. And there were more at the end of the third drive, right before Kaeding gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead 1:49 into the second quarter.

Rivers heard the boos and was visibly upset.

“We're doing OK, and a throwaway or an incompletion and the world is coming to an end,” he said. “I'm like, 'Wait a minute guys, we're getting it going.'

“But here's the bottom line: (fans') expectations are the same as ours going into the year. So they're not happy. Any time it doesn't go great, they get a little fired up. But look, I hate throwing an incompletion more than anybody. We hate running for one yard. So we're sharing the same feeling. We're not going to boo ourselves, but we're frustrated too.”

Finally, the frustration has ebbed.

With the Ravens committing as much as every team (and even more) to stopping LaDainian Tomlinson, Rivers for the first time this season was the hero.

“It's a balanced offense,” said Tomlinson, who carried 24 times for 77 yards, an average of just 3.2 but enough to eclipse 10,000 career rushing yards. “When you can't do one thing, the other part of the game has to pick it up.”

After a wait of 2½ months, it actually happened.

Head coach Norv Turner has maintained all along that Rivers was going to need to be able to win games with his arm if the Chargers are to be a factor in the postseason. That is why Turner has altered this offense, why he has stuck to a plan that has been a little too much finesse for the liking of many, including his own players.

“He made a lot of plays,” said Turner, who gave Rivers a game ball afterward. “He made some tough plays. He did a good job moving in the pocket, sliding, beating the rush.”

SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune Chargers' Jamal Williams restrains Ravens running back Willis McGahee, grabbing his shirt tail in a pinch, as linebacker Shawne Merriman charges in to finish the tackle.

It was just the fourth time this season Rivers had a passer rating over 100 and just the second time when throwing more than 18 passes. It was just his third game without an interception.

During the second quarter, in which the Chargers scored 22 points, their most in a quarter since 2004, Rivers was 12-for-18 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. His first pass of the third quarter was that 25-yard touchdown to Gates, the tight end's second scoring pass of the day.

“The scary part about this team is we were still able to win games despite some of the things going on in the passing game,” Gates said. “But in order to win a championship, we need Philip.”

In a side room adjacent the Chargers' locker room, about 20 minutes after the Chargers had won, team President Dean Spanos and some staff members watched as Robbie Gould's 39-yard field goal gave the Chicago Bears an overtime victory against Denver. Spanos leaped as the kick sailed through the uprights, knowing his team was in first place alone again.

“Sometimes,” Spanos said as he walked from the locker room seconds later, “you need the stars to align.”

Now that they perhaps are, and now that a certain excitable quarterback appears to be back, reality might actually live up to the hype that floated around this team.

“This is what we've been waiting on,” Rivers said. “Defense, offense, we saw, 'Hey, we are the same people.' We didn't do anything out of our mind today. We just played the way we're supposed to play. It's just like, 'It's about time.' ”

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