Chargers postgame show

By: JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Monday, November 6, 2006 5:57 AM PST ∞

Key Stat : 2-6 - The Browns' record ---- if Chargers had played a better team, they wouldn't have won.

Turning point

With 9:20 remaining, LaDainian Tomlinson scored his second TD, giving the Chargers a 24-15 lead and turning it into a two-possession advantage over the Browns.

Next game

10 a.m., Sunday vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium

Quotable

"If you win and didn't play great, that says a lot.''

---- QB Philip Rivers, on the Chargers' prevailing with an uneven performance.

Injury update

DE Luis Castillo (ankle)

LB Donnie Edwards (hip)

S Marlon McCree (calf)

WR Vincent Jackson (leg)

Who's hot

Tomlinson

Remember, the Browns could have drafted him.

Who's not

Rivers

For the first time this year, he didn't heave a TD pass.

Gates-Winslow summit

TEs Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow Jr. mended fences as they crossed paths during the second quarter; both team's offenses were on the field while Keenan McCardell's fumble was under review.

Winslow, healthy for the first time after his first two NFL seasons were lost to injury, proclaimed during the week that he was the league's best tight end, a comment some perceived as a slight of Gates.

"He was just saying that he didn't mean any harm by saying that he was the best tight end in the league. It was more of a competitive thing for him," Gates said. "I just basically said that I'm happy that he's on the field and he can play."

Said Winslow: "Gates is a great player, and he's going to Hawaii (for the Pro Bowl)."

Chargers fans weren't so forgiving, booing loudly on each of Winslow's career-high 11 catches.

"I expected it," Winslow said of the treatment. "I love San Diego, and I love the fans. They're supposed to (boo)."

Winslow also called out S Terrence Kiel during the week, saying he hoped he was left one on one with the safety. Kiel was in on a fourth-quarter hit that caused Winslow to get up gingerly, drawing a hearty cheer from the San Diego fans.

"He was talking a lot during the week, and we wanted to really hit him, but we didn't have that many opportunities," Kiel said. "But when we did, we made it count."

Defensive scores

With the second-quarter touchdown by LB Marques Harris, the Chargers have scored a defensive touchdown off a fumble recovery two straight weeks ---- the first time in team history that's happened. S Marlon McCree had a 79-yarder last week, but Harris didn't have as far to run, diving on a Charlie Frye fumble in the end zone.

"We've got to keep scoring on defense," said LB Randall Godfrey, who stripped Frye on the play. "That's two weeks in a row, isn't it? We've got to keep going, man."

Time out

The Chargers absorbed a rare penalty when rookie CB Antonio Cromartie called a timeout on the heels of a Chargers timeout. It's illegal to call consecutive timeouts, and it cost the Chargers 15 yards.

"I didn't know there was a rule like that,'' Cromartie said. "I'll learn from it, and it won't happen again."

Added CB Quentin Jammer: "He didn't know, and I wouldn't have known that, either. I would have called a timeout, too. He's just trying to do the smart thing. You can't blame him for that. If you poll every player in the league, I guarantee you 80 percent of all NFL players don't know that rule.''

Cromartie's miscue erased Phil Dawson's missed 54-yard field goal. He later hit one from 42 on the extended drive.

Sturdy Neal

The Chargers' defensive unit was introduced before the game, save one player: FB Lorenzo Neal. The club wanted to make sure his 200th consecutive start didn't go unnoticed.

"I'm grateful, thankful and very blessed to play 200 games, but hey, it's about winning for me,'' Neal said. "I really don't care about 200 games; it's just about getting out there and winning, playing a game I love to play: football.''

Said Rivers: "I asked him if, when he walked out the tunnel for the first one or the 200th one, there was any difference. He said, 'No, it's the same thing. You always want to win and be the best and that is why I am still out there.' That is what the game is all about, those kind of guys.''

Staff writer Michael Klitzing contributed to this report.