SAN DIEGO — The Bengals came into Sunday's 28-14 loss to the Chargers with the league's third best rush defense at 66 yards a game.

        But San Diego ran for more than twice that much, with rookie LaDainian Tomlinson rushing for 107 yards and three touchdowns.

        “He surprised us a little bit with his speed and got outside on us a couple of times,” Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said. “He had a great game, and that as much as anything hurt us today.”

        Tomlinson, who had a 3.2-yard average coming in, ended up with a 5.1 average Sunday. He has 310 yards in three games.

        The Chargers ran 35 times against the Bengals, compared to 19 pass attempts, and had a 10-second time possession advantage.

        The Chargers rush offense came to life in the third quarter, when they outscored the Bengals 14-0 and drove deep into Bengals' territory before scoring on the second play of the fourth quarter.

        Tomlinson had 88 yards in the second half.

        The Bengals, who also wanted to establish the rush offense, finished with 111 yards on 26 carries, 44 coming on the late fourth-quarter touchdown drive from Curtis Keaton. Corey Dillon had 46 yards on 15 attempts.

        FIRSTS:

The Bengals' first two draft picks, Justin Smith and Chad Johnson, showed Sunday what the front office selected them to do.

        Smith, a defensive end, had a 13-yard sack of Doug Flutie in the second quarter. Smith had three tackles and played on punt rush special teams.

        Wide receiver Chad Johnson made his first career reception in the first quarter. He caught a 20-yard pass over the middle on third-down-and-12 from the Bengals' 29. Johnson's second reception was the first touchdown catch of his career, from 8 yards on third down late in the second quarter. He had two catches for 28 yards.

        The touchdown capped a 47-yard drive in nine plays. Jon Kitna threw a nice fade into the corner of the end zone, and Johnson had beaten cornerback Ryan McNeil.

        WARRICK'S DAY:

Wide receiver Peter Warrick had four receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown Sunday, giving him 14 receptions for 86 yards in three games.

        TURNOVERS:

The Bengals turned the ball over four times and had no takeaways, dropping them back to even after three games.

        RED ZONE:

The Bengals scored touchdowns both times they moved inside San Diego's 20-yard line. They have scored five of the seven times they've been in the red zone with three touchdowns and two field goals.

        KICKS:

Kicker Neil Rackers, who missed three field goal attempts against Baltimore, did not attempt a field goal, made both extra points and kicked a successful onside kick late in the fourth quarter that was recovered by cornerback Rodney Heath.

        BOOTED:

Bengals cornerback Mark Roman and Chargers linebacker John Holecek were penalized for personal fouls on the onside kick and both ejected.

        BLACK SHIRTS:

The Bengals unveiled their traditional home black jerseys on the road Sunday against the Chargers. The Bengals have worn white shirts in their first six games, including all four preseason games.

        NFL teams normally wear dark shirts at home, but in warm-weather games, they can choose to wear white. The Bengals have worn white in their first two games at home, as have the Chargers.

        CEREMONY:

The game was the Chargers' first at Qualcomm Stadium since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Before the game, a U.S. Marine Corps marching band performed, and firefighters and police officers from greater San Diego unfurled a U.S. flag on the field that was 80 yards long and 40 yards wide.

        NATIONWIDE:

Sports Illustrated had a reporter at the Chargers-Bengals game, which will be featured this week in the magazine.

        WELCOME HOME:

Quarterback Akili Smith was greeted by several well-wishers Saturday after the team checked into the Marriott Mission Valley hotel. Players and parents involved in a youth football league thanked Smith for the financial gift from the Akili Smith Foundation that supports it.

        Smith is a San Diego native.

        DEBUT:

        Rookie wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh made his NFL debut Sunday. He had been inactive the first two games. He returned one punt for 10 yards in the fourth quarter.

        The Bengals' inactives: free safety Darryl Williams (foot injury), rookie running back Rudi Johnson, Riall Johnson (rib injury), defensive end Jevon Langford, offensive tackle Jamain Stephens, rookie guard Victor Leyva and rookie defensive tackle Mario Monds.

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