that the switch cost San Diego a Super Bowl win, stating that Rivers was too inexperienced at the time. The Chargers began their regular season with a 27–0 win at Oakland, with Tomlinson rushing 31 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. The following week, in a 40–7 victory over the Tennessee Titans, he scored twice to tie Lance Alworth's franchise record of 83 touchdowns. Following a bye week, Tomlinson was kept out the end zone in Week 4 (a 16–13 loss at Baltimore) and Week 5 (a 23–13 win over Pittsburgh, in which he gained a season-low 36 rushing yards). While he only ran for 71 yards on 21 carries the following week against the San Francisco 49ers, Tomlinson had four rushing touchdowns, tying the Charger single-game record of Clarence Williams and Chuck Muncie while moving ahead of Alworth on the career total touchdowns list. In the following game, he caught one touchdown and threw for another as San Diego erased a 14-point, 4th-quarter deficit in Kansas City, though they went on to lose 30–27 to a late field goal. After the Kansas City game, Tomlinson rushed for at least two touchdowns and at least 100 yards for the next eight games in a row, all Charger wins. He began the sequence against the St. Louis Rams, rushing for 183 yards and two touchdowns, adding a further 57 receiving yards and a third touchdown, and recovering a late onside kick attempt by the Rams in the 38–24 victory. In the following game against the Cleveland Browns, Tomlinson's first nine carries gained a modest 47 yards, but his following nine went for 125 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 172 yards in total at a season-high 9.56 yards per carry. He again recovered a late onside kick attempt by the opposition in the 32–25 victory. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Browns. In Week 10, San Diego trailed the Bengals 21–0 after a single quarter, but came back to win 49–41. Tomlinson rushed for four of the Chargers' seven touchdowns, including a pair 15 seconds apart that put them ahead for the first time. In Week 11, they faced Denver in a division-topping battle of 7–2 teams. Again, they overcame a large deficit, trailing 24–7 in the third quarter before winning 35–27. Tomlinson scored four touchdowns, with three on the ground and one