Losses take zip out of Raiders-Chargers rivalry

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers normally are stoked to be facing the Oakland Raiders — a team they've beaten 10 straight times.

LaDainian Tomlinson should be geeked to be facing his favorite punching bag.

Instead, there's a gloom around the Chargers — and with good reason.

Once considered Super Bowl favorites, the Chargers (4-8) have lost three straight and five of six. Their lifeless 22-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday all but eliminated them from postseason contention, leaving them three games behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West with four to play.

This will be a showdown of teams closer to the bottom of the heap than the top. The Raiders (3-9) can catch the Chargers if they can pull off an upset.

After finishing one game shy of the Super Bowl last season, the Chargers are just one game better than the hapless Raiders.

Maybe that's why Raider Week doesn't have the same edge as usual.

"In this situation, we are both two struggling teams, so it's not even fair to talk about a rivalry because we are struggling," Tomlinson said.

Tomlinson addressed his teammates right after the debilitating loss to the Falcons, imploring them not to give up.

"For us we need to make sure we finish in the right way — we continue to stay disciplined coming in here and working hard at practice and being prepared to win a game," Tomlinson said a few days later.

The Chargers haven't won since barely holding off the last-place Kansas City Chiefs at home on Nov. 9. Since then, they've lost at Pittsburgh and at home to Indianapolis and Atlanta.

Along the way, Tomlinson has looked mortal.

Running behind a line that's had a startling dropoff, Tomlinson was held to 24 yards by the Falcons, the second-lowest total in his brilliant eight-year career. The two-time defending NFL rushing champion and 2006 league MVP, Tomlinson has only 794 yards and six touchdowns on the ground three-quarters of the way through the season.

The Chargers have become a finesse passing team, with Philip Rivers flashing a 100.5 passer rating, second in the NFL, while throwing 23 TD passes.

"I said that a while ago, it hasn't been a run-first mentality," Tomlinson said. "I think we're in a transformation because we have so many weapons at the receiving positions that we are throwing the ball a lot more, so I really do think we're pretty much a pass-first offense."

Maybe another game with the Raiders will perk up things, even though the Chargers' playoff chances are likely extinguished.