SAN DIEGO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- LaDainian Tomlinson had three touchdowns and 96 yards rushing Sunday night to lead the San Diego Chargers to a 52-21 rout of Denver and an AFC West title.
The Chargers (8-8) will be at home against Indianapolis (12-4) Saturday in the opening round of the NFL playoffs, following their storybook season-ending run of four straight wins. Denver led the division by three games with three games to play, but the Chargers dominated the Broncos Sunday to end their season and capture their third straight division title.
Darren Sproles rushed for 115 yards and a TD for the Chargers, who rolled up 287 yards rushing.
Philip Rivers was 15-of-20 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns for the Chargers. Rivers finished the regular season with 34 passing touchdowns, breaking Dan Fouts' franchise record of 33, set in 1981.
Tomlinson's three touchdowns gave him 126 for his NFL career, sending him past Marcus Allen into second place all time.
Jay Cutler was 33-of-49 passing for 316 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions for Denver (8-8), who saw the Chargers win the division because San Diego (5-1) had a better record than the Broncos (3-3) within the division.
