The 2006 season was the San Diego Chargers' 37th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 47th overall and the fifth and final campaign under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. They improved on their 9–7 record in 2005 and finished the campaign as the No. 1 seed in the AFC ending the season at 14–2, the best record in the NFL in 2006 and also the best for Schottenheimer in his 21 seasons as an NFL head coach. Their two regular season losses were by a combined 6 points. However, the team would experience a disappointing home-field playoff loss for the second time in the past three seasons losing in the final minutes, this time to the New England Patriots 24–21. This was the first of four consecutive AFC West titles for the Chargers. The Chargers won all 8 regular season games at Qualcomm.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson led the league in rushing with 1,815 yards, as well as setting NFL single-season records for rushing touchdowns (28) and total touchdowns (31). It was the final season the Chargers wore the unis they had worn since the 1988 season.
The 2006 Chargers are widely considered to be one of the greatest teams to not make the Super Bowl.
Off-season The Chargers did not re-sign All–Pro quarterback Drew Brees to a contract, Brees had suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in the final game of the season, and turned instead to 2004 1st round selection Philip Rivers.brees nearing possible point of no return Brees nearing possible point of no return, The San Diego Union-Tribune Brees would later sign a contract with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent and make a complete recovery.Great Expections , Best of New Orleans
Chargers ownership announced in January that the team would no longer attempt to place a proposal for a new stadium on the November ballot as they were not able to locate private partners to facilitate financing of the project.Stadium Plan Sacked The team had begun talks with city officials in 2002 stating that Qualcomm Stadium was inadequate to meet the financial needs of the franchise, and that they needed the city's help in building a new stadium to remain competitive.
2006 NFL draft In the NFL draft, the Chargers used their first pick on Florida State cornerback Antonio Cromartie. They used their second pick on Auburn offensive tackle Marcus McNeill. The remainder of their draft picks were Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, Iowa State linebacker Tim Dobbins, Kansas State offensive tackle Jeromey Clary, Virginia kicker Kurt Smith, North Carolina defensive end Chase Page, and Virginia Tech offensive tackle Jimmy Martin.
NFL draft
Training camp
Expectations varied for the Chargers' 2006 season. Questions centered on the play of the untested QB Rivers in his first season starting, and with the offensive line, especially at the crucial left tackle position. OLT Roman Oben injury in 2005 had a negative impact on all aspects of the offense and his replacement Lender Jordan ability to protect QB Rivers blindside was unproven. Jordan was injured in training camp and 2nd round draft pick OT Marcus McNeill landed the starting job and went on to have a Pro Bowl season.PRO BOWL ROSTER Defensively, the front seven remained talented and solid. LB depth was tested with Steve Foley's off-the-field injury; however, his replacement OLB Shaun Phillips (42 tackles, 23 assists, 11.5 sacks) came through with a major quality performance. The unit returned numerous key players, including nose tackle Jamal Williams, DE Luis Castillo, DE Igor Olshansky and 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year Shawne Merriman, that made the Chargers the best team in the NFL against the run in 2005 season. Another area of concern was in the secondary,N.F.L..COM Cromartie, who sat out his last season at Florida State with a knee injury, is talented but inexperience was not expected to contribute right away .nfl.com/draft/profiles Cromartie filled the 3rd CB role for the team and pressed starting CB Drayton Florence for playing time. Safety play became more of a concern particularly with the arrest of DB Terrence Kiel by federal law enforcement officials on drug charges during the regular season and the re-injury to DB Bhawoh Jue's knee.
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Green Bay Packers W 17–3 1–0 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 2 Chicago Bears L 3–24 1–1 Soldier Field Recap 3 Seattle Seahawks W 31–20 2–1 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 4 San Francisco 49ers L 14–23 2–2 Monster Park Recap
Regular season
Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue GameBook Recap 1 at Oakland Raiders W 27–0 1–0 McAfee Coliseum Gamebook Recap 2 September 17 Tennessee Titans W 40–7 2–0 Qualcomm Stadium GamebookRecap 3 Bye 4 October 1 at Baltimore Ravens L 13–16 2–1 M&T Bank Stadium Gamebook Recap 5 October 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–13 3–1 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 6 October 15 at San Francisco 49ers W 48–19 4–1 Monster Park Gamebook Recap 7 October 22 at Kansas City Chiefs L 27–30 4–2 Arrowhead Stadium Gamebook Recap 8 October 29 St. Louis Rams W 38–24 5–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 9 November 5 Cleveland Browns W 32–25 6–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 10 November 12 at Cincinnati Bengals W 49–41 7–2 Paul Brown Stadium Gamebook Recap 11 November 19 at Denver Broncos W 35–27 8–2 Invesco Field at Mile High Gamebook Recap 12 November 26 Oakland Raiders W 21–14 9–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 13 December 3 at Buffalo Bills W 24–21 10–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium Gamebook Recap 14 December 10 Denver Broncos W 48–20 11–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 15 December 17 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–9 12–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap 16 December 24 at Seattle Seahawks W 20–17 13–2 Qwest Field Gamebook Recap 17 December 31 Arizona CardinalsW 27–20 14–2 Qualcomm Stadium Gamebook Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at Oakland Raiders
The Chargers opened the season on September 11, 2006, with a 27–0 victory over the division rival Oakland Raiders. This second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader marked the first time the Chargers had shut out the Raiders since a 44–0 win in 1961.
LaDainian Tomlinson led the Chargers with 31 carries for 131 yards, while Philip Rivers, in his debut as an NFL starting quarterback, completed 8 of 11 pass attempts for 108 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions. The Chargers' defense stifled the Raiders' running game, holding Raiders RB Lamont Jordan to 20 yards on 10 carries, and recorded 9 quarterback sacks against Raiders QBs Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter. Three of those sacks belonged to second-year LB Shawne Merriman.
With the win, the Chargers extended their winning streak against Oakland to six games, while head coach Marty Schottenheimer improved his head coaching record against the Raiders to 26–7. Schottenheimer also earned his 187th career victory, passing Chuck Knox to become the seventh-winning-est head coach in NFL history.
That shutout also marked the second time ever that Oakland had been shut out in their own stadium, the second being the Denver Broncos and the third being the St. Louis Rams as the Chargers picked up their 6th straight win over the Raiders and started their season 1–0.
Week 2: vs. Tennessee Titans
The Chargers hosted the Tennessee Titans in their Week 2 home-opener, winning 40–7. Tomlinson rushed for two touchdowns and tied Lance Alworth for the Chargers record for most career touchdowns with 83. Vince Young spoiled the Chargers bid for a second straight shutout by throwing a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, though the 7 straight quarters of holding the opponent scoreless were the most to open a season since the 1977 Raiders. With the win, the Chargers went into their bye week at 2–0.
Philip Rivers completed 25 passes out of 35 attempts, racking up 235 yards and a touchdown.
Week 4: at Baltimore Ravens
Coming off of their Bye, the Chargers traveled to M&T Bank Stadium to take on the Baltimore Ravens. The Chargers drew first blood as QB Philip Rivers completed a 31-yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd. However, the Ravens would tie the game up with QB Steve McNair completing a 5-yard TD pass to TE Daniel Wilcox. In the second quarter, kicker Nate Kaeding would give the Chargers some comfort, as he kicked a 34-yard and a 54-yard field goal (a then career long) to give San Diego the lead at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Ravens slowly started to climb back. Late in the fourth quarter, after giving Baltimore an intentional safety (instead of punting deep from their own end zone), the Chargers hoped that their defense could hold up and prevent any chance of a comeback. However, McNair led the offense throughout the closing minutes and scored the game-winning touchdown with a 10-yard TD pass to TE Todd Heap. With their loss, the Chargers fell to 2–1.
Week 5: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Hoping to rebound from their last-second loss to the Ravens, the Chargers flew back home and donned their throwback uniforms for a Sunday Night match-up with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chargers struggled early as their offense actually had −2 total yards, while the defense gave up a 9-yard TD run by RB Willie Parker in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Chargers continued to trail, as Steelers kicker Jeff Reed completed a 39-yard field goal. San Diego would start to get back into the game, as QB Philip Rivers completed a 9-yard TD pass to WR Malcom Floyd. In the third quarter, the Chargers charged right into the lead, as kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 28-yard field goal, while Rivers hooked up with TE Antonio Gates for a 22-yard TD strike. In the fourth quarter, Kaeding put the game away with a 33-yard and a 22-yard field goal, while the defense squashed any hope of a Steeler comeback as the Chargers improved to 3–1.
Week 6: at San Francisco 49ers
Riding high from their win over Pittsburgh, the Chargers traveled up north to Candlestick Park for a Week 6 fight with their other state rival, the San Francisco 49ers. In the first quarter, San Diego struck first as QB Philip Rivers completed a 57-yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates, yet the Niners tied the game with QB Alex Smith completing a 15-yard TD pass to WR Bryan Gilmore. RB LaDainian Tomlinson helped the Chargers retake the lead, as he got a 5-yard TD run. In a topsy-turvy second quarter, points were flying everywhere. It began with 49ers kicker Joe Nedney kicking a 42-yard field goal. Afterwards, the Chargers retook the lead as Rivers hooked up with WR Vincent Jackson on a 33-yard TD strike, followed by Tomlinson getting a 1-yard TD run. Then, Smith connected with FB Moran Norris on a 2-yard pass for San Francisco, which was followed up with the Niners getting a safety from an intentional grounding penalty. Tomlinson would get another 1-yard TD run to end the quarter. In the second half, San Diego scored 13 unanswered points to seal the game, with kicker Nate Kaeding kicking two field goals (24-yarder in the third quarter and a 44-yarder in the fourth quarter) and Tomlinson iced the game with one more 5-yard touchdown run. With their victory, the Chargers improved to 4–1.
Week 7: at Kansas City Chiefs