OAKLAND, CALIF. ? The San Diego Chargers didn’t mind all the garbage thrown their way after this one.

Quarterback Drew Brees took a water bottle in the head, thrown by a Raiders fan.

“It might have been the hardest hit I took all day,” he said cheerfully.

LaDainian Tomlinson avoided the end-zone mess. He was on the bottom of a celebratory pile after scoring the winning touchdown in the Chargers’ 27-21 overtime victory Sunday.

“They were trying to protect their home stadium,” an understanding Brees said of the often-raunchy Raider faithful, who tossed anything they could find at the jubilant Chargers. “A little celebration was warranted.”

Tomlinson ran for 153 yards, and his 19-yard score 3:38 into the extra period ended the matchup between the AFC West’s top teams. The victory gave the Chargers (6-1) their best start since 1994, when they went to the Super Bowl and lost to San Francisco.

Oakland’s Jon Ritchie scored the tying TD on a 7-yard catch from Rich Gannon with 1:21 left in regulation. It was Ritchie’s sixth reception of the season and his first touchdown.

Brees ran 1 yard to give San Diego a 21-14 lead with 7:18 left before the Raiders answered with Ritchie’s TD.

The Chargers have a one-game lead over Denver and a 1 1/2-game edge over the Raiders (4-2) in the division. Oakland had won the previous four meetings and eight of nine.

Enter Marty Schottenheimer.

The first-year Chargers coach never seems to lose to the Silver and Black no matter what job he has. Schottenheimer has won five straight against the Raiders, though he hadn’t faced them since 1998, during his final season in Kansas City.

San Diego free safety Rogers Beckett, left, tackles Oakland wide receiver Jerry Porter. The Chargers beat the Raiders, 27-21 in overtime, on Sunday in Oakland, Calif.

“We’ve just managed to make plays when we had to win,” he said. “It has a lot more to do with the guys playing than the guy talking to you.”

Leading up to Sunday’s game, Schottenheimer said that his Raider-hating days were over.

Maybe so. During pregame, members of Schottenheimer’s staff mingled with fans, and a San Diego official posed for several photos with one of the Coliseum’s most celebrated fans the “Violator.” The fan’s face is painted with silver and black stripes, and he wears No. 57. “Violator” is written on the back of his black jersey, and his uniform has silver spikes sticking up from the shoulder pads.

Schottenheimer’s teams have now beaten the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders 20 times in 25 games since 1985. In his decade of coaching the Chiefs, his teams went 18-3 against the Raiders.

“I think maybe he kicks it up a notch for Raider Week,” Brees said.

Tomlinson won the highly anticipated matchup of the Raiders’ third-ranked run defense against the NFL’s No. 2 rushing offense, with the second-year back doing almost all the damage.

Tomlinson carried the ball 39 times, and in addition to his winning run, he caught a 4-yard TD pass from Brees.

“This is huge, a confidence booster,” Tomlinson said.

Oakland had a chance to pull ahead with 11:44 left, but Sebastian Janikowski missed a 48-yard field goal wide left, his second miss of the game. He booted one off the right upright from 27 yards out after Oakland’s first series.

Gannon completed 35 of 45 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for the Raiders, who have lost two straight after a 4-0 start.

San Diego’s defense even without Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau didn’t have Oakland looking like one of the NFL’s most productive offenses.

Saints 35, 49ers 27

New Orleans Aaron Brooks threw three touchdown passes, and his 1-yard TD run with 1:56 left sealed the victory for New Orleans.

The Saints were flagged for having 12 men on the field, but 49ers coach Steve Mariucci declined the penalty, so his offense could have as much time as possible to attempt a comeback.

But after outscoring San Francisco 22-3 in the fourth quarter, the Saints (6-1) clamped down on defense, stopping the drive at their 39.

Terrell Owens caught another touchdown pass for the 49ers (4-2), a 4-yarder from Jeff Garcia in the first quarter. A week after he took heat for pulling a pen out of his sock and signing the ball, Owens showed his sense of humor when he lifted up his feet so his teammates could inspect him for a writing instrument.

Owens caught only three more passes the rest of the game, however, and he finished with 61 yards.

Saints running back Deuce McAllister had 139 yards on 21 carries.

Rams 37, Seahawks 20

St. Louis Marshall Faulk ran for 183 yards and became the 15th player to reach 10,000 yards rushing as the Rams pulled away from Seattle.

Faulk caught a 6-yard TD pass from Marc Bulger for a 7-0 lead, and Faulk added three short scoring runs for his fifth career four-TD game, helping the Rams (2-5) win their second straight.

Bulger, elevated to the starting job by injuries to Kurt Warner (broken finger) and Jamie Martin (knee), was 22-for-40 for 265 yards.

The Seahawks (1-5) are off to their worst start since 1992, when they began the season 1-10 and finished 2-14. It’s also the worst start of coach Mike Holmgren’s career.

Jets 20, Vikings 7

East Rutherford, N.J. Putting aside their 1-4 start, the Jets looked rejuvenated behind Chad Pennington, who completed 24 of 29 passes for 324 yards.

Pennington had his first career 300-yard game and won for the first time as a starter since taking over for Vinny Testaverde two weeks ago against Kansas City.

Minnesota (1-5), which was coming off a win over the Detroit Lions, has lost 13 straight road games.

Led by linebacker Mo Lewis, the New York defense forced Daunte Culpepper into three interceptions.

Bills 23, Dolphins 10

Miami Nate Clements tied a team record with three interceptions against Miami backup Ray Lucas, returning one for a touchdown to help the Bills exceed last year’s victory total.

Buffalo, which went 3-13 last season, improved to 4-3 and closed within a game of Miami (5-2) in the AFC East. The Bills had lost their previous four games against the Dolphins.

Lucas had a miserable day filling in for Jay Fiedler, who is out at least six weeks with a broken right thumb. Making his first NFL start since 1999, he threw four interceptions and had a hand in two lost fumbles.

Drew Bledsoe went 15-for-31 for 182 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown pass to Eric Moulds.

Falcons 30, Panthers 0

Atlanta In a virtuoso one-man performance, Michael Vick totaled 297 yards running and throwing to lead the Atlanta Falcons past the feeble Panthers.

Vick, who played only three quarters and missed the previous game with an ailing shoulder, had all sorts of plays worthy of the highlight reel, capped by a 44-yard touchdown run when he broke a tackle, tiptoed down the sideline and ran right into the tunnel.

Atlanta (3-3) posted its first shutout since a 13-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 14, 1993.

Ravens 17, Jaguars 10

Baltimore Chris Redman threw two touchdown passes to Todd Heap and Baltimore’s defense did the rest without injured linebacker Ray Lewis.

The Ravens (3-3) repeatedly frustrated Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell, who threw three interceptions the last one coming on the final play, by rookie Will Demps in the end zone.

Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor ran for 151 yards and caught eight passes for 46 yards to lead the Jags (3-3).

Lions 23, Bears 20, OT

Detroit Jason Hanson’s 48-yard field goal with 10:18 left in overtime helped Detroit send the Bears to their fourth straight defeat.

The Lions (2-4) matched their win total from last season. Chicago (2-4) already has more regular-season losses than all of last year.

James Stewart ran for a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns for Detroit. Rookie quarterback Joey Harrington led a game-tying drive with no timeouts left that set up Hanson’s 24-yard kick with 2 seconds left.

Browns 34, Texans 17

Cleveland Tim Couch, booed by Cleveland fans in his previous home game, threw a 25-yard TD pass to Quincy Morgan, and the Browns sacked Houston quarterback David Carr nine times.

Cleveland rookie Andre Davis had a crucial 95-yard kickoff return for a TD, and William Green scored on a 1-yard run as the Browns (3-4) snapped a three-game losing streak by pulling away from a 7-all halftime tie.

Eagles 20,

Buccaneers 10

Philadelphia Donovan McNabb didn’t put up great numbers, but he threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Eagles beat Tampa Bay for the fourth straight time.

Philly (4-2) also beat the Bucs in the playoffs the past two seasons. Tampa Bay (5-2) had won five straight.

McNabb threw for 127 yards, and he was held to a career-low 4 yards rushing on six carries. But his 42-yard TD pass to Todd Pinkston in the second quarter put the Eagles in front for good, 10-7.

Duce Staley ran 24 times for 152 yards.

Cardinals 9,

Cowboys 6, OT

Tempe, Ariz. After missing field-goal attempts from 28 and 51 yards in the final 3:24 of regulation, Bill Gramatica kicked a 40-yarder with 3:10 left in overtime.

The Cardinals improved to 4-2, their best start since 1988 their first season in Arizona. They are tied with the 49ers for first place in the NFC West. Arizona plays at San Francisco next Sunday.

Quincy Carter threw four interceptions, two in the end zone, to end scoring threats for the Cowboys (3-4).

Emmitt Smith gained a season-high 82 yards on 22 carries, leaving him 92 yards shy of Walter Payton’s career rushing mark.

Packers 30, Redskins 9

Green Bay, Wis. The Packers improved to 6-1, but they’re more concerned about Brett Favre, who hobbled off the field with a sprained left knee after he was sacked by LaVar Arrington in the third quarter.

Ahman Green had the first three-touchdown rushing performance of his career, helping Green Bay win its fifth straight.

The Redskins (2-4) managed just three field goals by James Tuthill.