Philip Rivers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - One trip into the end zone wasn't enough for Plaxico Burress. Neither was two. One touchdown catch after another, Burress had the big breakout game he and the New York Jets had been expecting. The veteran wide receiver tied a career high by catching three TD passes, including the go-ahead score that was set up by another interception by Darrelle Revis, as the Jets stormed back in the second half to defeat the San Diego Chargers, 27-21, yesterday.

Norv Turner walked around the San Diego Chargers' locker room, all smiles, thanking players for the effort and congratulating them for finishing strong. Maybe for the last time. If Turner's tenure in San Diego really, truly is over, at least his players sent him out a winner. And in typical Turner fashion, it again might've come too late. Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes and Richard Goodman returned a kickoff 105 yards for another score, giving the Chargers a 38-26 victory over the Oakland Raiders to keep its AFC West rival out of the playoffs.

SAN DIEGO -- John Lynch sent the San Diego Chargers into a painful offseason. The Denver safety, who's from San Diego, keyed a 23-7 Broncos win yesterday by knocking Drew Brees out of the game with a shoulder injury, then forcing Philip Rivers to fumble in the end zone, resulting in a safety. Tatum Bell scored three touchdowns for Denver, but was held to 52 yards (17 carries). He needed 131 yards for 1,000. He and Mike Anderson were trying to become the fourth running back tandem in NFL history to finish with 1,000 yards each.

Watching his offense repeatedly stall near the end zone, his defense get shredded by Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, and his special teams get gashed for a 105-yard kickoff return was hard enough for Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson. Finding out afterward that the Raiders got the help they needed to win the division when Denver lost, left Jackson fuming at his team's shoddy performance. Rivers threw three touchdown passes and Richard Goodman returned a kickoff 105 yards for another score as the Chargers ended Oakland's playoff hopes by beating the Raiders 38-26 on...

Tiki Barber and Plaxico Burress provided the big plays as the New York Giants secured the NFC East title and a home playoff game. Burress had a key block on Barber's career-long, 95-yard touchdown run, then had a career-best 78-yard catch and run for a touchdown, and they both made quarterback Eli Manning look good in the Giants' 30-21 victory over the Raiders last night in Oakland, Calif. Barber ran for 203 yards and Jay Feely kicked three field goals, including a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter, as New York (11-5)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - This was the Philip Rivers everyone expected all season. Rivers threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns, burning Jacksonville's depleted secondary early and often, and the San Diego Chargers beat the Jaguars, 38-14, last night to snap a six-game losing streak. The Chargers (5-7) could have used Rivers's turnaround sooner. The three-time Pro Bowl selection leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and turnovers (21), and was a key part of San Diego's disappointing season.

SAN DIEGO — Take away all those special teams blunders and turnovers, and this is how the Chargers were supposed to look all along. Philip Rivers tied his career high with four touchdown passes and San Diego beat the Denver Broncos, 35-14, last night for their third straight victory. While Rivers did it on a season-low 233 yards, San Diego’s defense, led by linebacker Shaun Phillips, settled in and harassed Denver’s Kyle Orton after he led an easy opening scoring drive.

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Staff FOXBOROUGH -- Vince Wilfork is in his eighth season in the NFL. Yesterday marked the 108th regular-season game of the defensive tackle's career. He's accomplished some noteworthy individual feats, having earned three Pro Bowl selections, three second-team All-Pro selections, and the reputation as one of the finest run-stuffers of his era. But until yesterday, he'd never lived the defensive lineman's ultimate football dream: Picking off a pass in an NFL game.

After watching two division rivals lose their starting quarterbacks to injuries, the Chargers obtained Billy Volek from Tennessee yesterday to give them a veteran behind first-year starter Philip Rivers . Volek, who had to waive his no-trade clause, wanted out of Tennessee since being demoted to third-stringer behind rookie Vince Young after the Titans signed Kerry Collins . He got his wish, but the deal was delayed for...

By Greg A. Bedard, Globe Staff A quick check of what we thought were the keys to a Patriots victory yesterday before they took on the Chargers: Key 1: Control TE Antonio Gates Verdict : Check plus . The Patriots said, 'If you're going to beat us Philip Rivers, it's not going to be without your favorite target.' Gates was targeted only once and that pass was completed...to the Patriots when Sergio Brown broke on...

After a decade of losing, the Detroit Lions are in the playoffs. And they made sure the San Diego Chargers are out. With their fans chanting "PLAYOFFS" for the final minutes, Detroit got there for the first time since 1999 after Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the first half to beat the Chargers 38-10 Saturday. The Lions (10-5) have won three straight after a seven-game slump to earn a wild-card spot in the playoffs, turning around their franchise after the NFL's only 0-16 season just three years ago. Following the game, coach Jim Schwartz and his...

Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers looked playoff-ready, even if their postseason hopes remain slim. Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens earned a playoff berth before kickoff, then looked anything but the dominating, well-balanced team they had been. Rivers threw for one score and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season, Ryan Mathews ran for two scores and hit 1,000 yards rushing, and the Chargers beat the Ravens 34-14 on Sunday night. The Chargers (7-7)

The Baltimore Ravens got the kind of treatment they usually dish out. Joe Flacco was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, and the Ravens' normally ferocious defense was anything but as playoff-bound Baltimore was roughed up 34-14 on Sunday night by the desperate San Diego Chargers. "Anytime you lose a game, you're not happy about it," Flacco said. "I think you're more disappointed really when you do shoot yourself in the foot and you feel like you could have done something about it. It was just bad. " Philip Rivers threw for one score...

The Buffalo Bills were a good team at the start of the season, racing to a 5-2 record behind quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now they're eliminated from the playoff race after their sixth straight loss, 37-10 to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. Coach Chan Gailey paused for a moment when asked if the Bills are demoralized. "I hate to admit that," he said. "I hate to say that's it. I want to say if we'll go execute with the players that we've got, I think we can be a respectable football team.

The San Diego Chargers got Tebowed and they weren't even playing the Denver Broncos. With the Chargers cruising through the final minutes of a 37-10 victory against the Buffalo Bills, the Qualcomm Stadium scoreboard showed an update that Tim Tebow and the Broncos were losing 10-7 to the Chicago Bears. If the Bears could hold on, the Chargers would close within one game of the Broncos and the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West. Then the Broncos forced overtime and pulled out a 13-10 win. The Chargers (6-7)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - This was the Philip Rivers everyone expected all season. Rivers threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns, burning Jacksonville's depleted secondary early and often, and the San Diego Chargers beat the Jaguars, 38-14, last night to snap a six-game losing streak. The Chargers (5-7) could have used Rivers's turnaround sooner. The three-time Pro Bowl selection leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and turnovers (21), and was a key part of San Diego's disappointing season.

Raiders 24  Chargers 17  SAN DIEGO - Carson Palmer looked like an NFL quarterback again, not like a guy who had settled into semi-retirement in Southern California. Philip Rivers looked, well, like the turnover-prone quarterback that he's been since Opening Day. Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Michael Bush ran 30 times for a season-high 157 yards and one touchdown to lead the Oakland Raiders to a 24-17 win last night in San Diego, handing the Chargers their fourth straight loss.

SAN DIEGO - Tim Tebow wasn't watching as San Diego's Nick Novak lined up to attempt a 53-yard field goal that would have given the Chargers an overtime victory over the Denver Broncos. He was praying, of course. Did Tebow ask for a miss? "I might have said that. Or maybe a block. Maybe all of it," the Denver quarterback said with a laugh. Whatever, it worked. Novak missed wide right. Tebow moved the Broncos down the field and Matt Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in overtime to lift the Broncos to a 16-13 victory yesterday over the Chargers, who've lost...