L.T. scores 4 TDs as Chargers restore order in AFC West TOMLINSON'S GROUND DISPLAY LIGHTS UP OAKLAND'S DEFENSE, AS USUAL There he goes again

SAN DIEGO -- Long Touchdowns.

Lane Trumped.

Lucky Turner.

Later, Turkeys.

Yep, Oakland's 28-14 loss to the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday was all about L.T. The Raiders weren't overwhelmed on this field, as they have been other times in recent years. They had a couple of long offensive drives, often made things difficult for San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, and managed to hang in the game until late in the fourth quarter.

But they ultimately came up short, and the difference was LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers' surreally talented running back. Tomlinson ran the ball 24 times for 198 yards and scored all four of his team's touchdowns -- his fifth career game with four or more.

"It's the same thing every year," Raiders cornerback Fabian Washington said. "We play hard, we play tough, and at some point he breaks loose. We got the guy figured out. We just gotta play him for four quarters. . . . The dude might be the best football player in the game."

Tomlinson scored early (5:36 into the game) and late (2:43 left remaining) and twice in between, repeatedly taking the wind out of the Raiders' sails. It must have been a relief to the NFL's reigning most valuable player, who entered the weekend averaging 65.8 yards per game in 2007.

"We knew he was going to have a breakout game, but we just didn't want him to have it against us," linebacker Kirk Morrison said.

Morrison's outlook ignored recent history. Tomlinson has averaged 139.9 rushing yards per game against the Raiders since the start of the 2002 season, and that doesn't include additional receiving yards or a pair of touchdown passes on halfback options. He is one of the reasons Oakland now owns a 16-game losing streak within the AFC West.

L.T.'s final touchdown followed an impressive Raiders drive and ended the visitors' hopes of pulling off an upset. After the Raiders cut the lead to 21-14 with 8:04 left, the Chargers took over at their 15-yard line. Tomlinson helped the cause with 32 yards on three runs. Then, on third-and-3 from the Oakland 41, he shot around right end, jumped over Washington's attempted ankle tackle and sped 41 yards for the clinching points.

That result dampened what had looked like a possibly miraculous comeback by the Raiders. Their fourth-quarter touchdown drive was epic. It took them 17 plays to go 60 yards as they converted, in order, plays on third-and-7, third-and-14, fourth-and-12, third-and-7 and fourth-and-goal from the 1. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper made good on all of them, including a 1-yard scoring toss to tight end Zach Miller after a flawless run fake.

The Raiders' performance was disappointingly inconsistent. They entered the game as the league's top rushing offense, but ran for only 53 yards (fewer than Tomlinson had on his four touchdown jaunts) on 23 carriers. They surrendered six sacks while getting none. Culpepper turned over the ball three times -- two interceptions and a lost fumble -- and Oakland was hit with eight penalties for 69 yards.

Yet the Raiders hung around awhile, thanks to that grueling fourth-quarter drive, a temporary recovery by the defense and a 66-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Thomas Howard.

The Chargers, 1-3 under Norv Turner before a convincing 41-3 victory at Denver last week, began the game as if they would run the Raiders into the harbor.

They went 80 yards for a touchdown on their first possession, Tomlinson diving 3 yards for the score. And after cornerback Drayton Florence intercepted Culpepper's pass on Oakland's third play, it took San Diego only three snaps to find the end zone again. L.T. started left from the Raiders' 27, cut back to the middle, eluded defensive end Jay Richardson in the backfield and outran defensive backs Stanford Routt and Nnamdi Asomugha to score.

But the Chargers would record only two more first downs for the remainder of the half. The Raiders were leveling the playing field, and Howard flattened it further when he jumped Rivers' pressured throw to the flat and took his interception the distance. It was Howard's fourth interception of the season, and his second touchdown.

The Raiders seemed prepared to tie the game when they drove 85 yards in the last 4:46 of the first half. Culpepper set up a potential touchdown when he found Ronald Curry wide open and led him down to the 1-yard line. But on the next play, the quarterback faked a handoff and looked to fullback Justin Griffith in the end zone. Griffith was covered, and Culpepper tried to scramble and was sacked. On the next play he was hit by linebacker Shaun Phillips and fumbled. Chargers nose tackle Jamal Williams recovered to end the threat.

"I wish I would've thrown it away," Culpepper said. "We can't have that."

The loss seemed to restore some order to the AFC West, or at least the Chargers would like to think so. The Raiders, alone in first place Saturday, fell to 2-3, where they sit beside the idle Broncos. San Diego and Kansas City each improved to 3-3.

It was sweet vindication for Turner, dismissed by Raiders owner Al Davis after going 9-23 as head coach over the 2004-05 seasons. Asked whether there was special pleasure in beating Oakland, he said: "You know, certainly there is, and I'm not going to lie about that. But that's personal and that's not the issue. Our issue is, we obviously had dug ourselves a hole, and getting back out of it."

Now the Raiders have to worry about scooping out of their own hole. This loss ended a two-game winning streak and reminded them that maybe they aren't really the best team in the West just yet.

"We were a bad team today," Kiffin said. "But bad teams continue to stay bad teams. And we gotta go back to work (today) and get better and win the next game."

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com or at 526-8672.