San Diego ? The San Diego Chargers’ long nightmare is coming to an end.

And if the Chargers do go on and break their eight-year playoff drought, they can thank their anonymous defense.

The Chargers — yes, the Chargers — took firm control of the AFC West by hanging on to beat the Denver Broncos, 20-17, in a wild one Sunday.

San Diego’s defense saved the day by intercepting Jake Plummer four times, including in the end zone in the closing minutes, and LaDainian Tomlinson ran for two touchdowns.

“Our defense carried us today,” Tomlinson said. “They were the reason we won this game.”

Playing their biggest game in 10 years, the Chargers (9-3) clinched their first winning season since 1995 and took a two-game lead in the division over Denver (7-5).

Now all that’s left for Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Antonio Gates and rest of the Chargers to do in this surprising season is to clinch a playoff berth, which the Bolts haven’t done since 1995.

San Diego is on a six-game winning streak for the first time since going 6-0 to open the 1994 season.

The biggest play came with 3:39 left after the Broncos drove the Chargers’ seven-yard line. Safety Jerry Wilson intercepted Plummer in the end zone after cornerback Drayton Florence — who intercepted Plummer in the game’s opening minutes — tipped a fade pass intended for Rod Smith.

San Diego's Jesse Chatman (24) and Nate Kaeding (10) rejoice as the Chargers close out a 20-17 victory over Denver. The Chargers earned a two-game lead in the AFC West with the victory Sunday in San Diego.

“I was telling those cornerbacks, ‘Be aggressive and just get a hand on the ball,”‘ Wilson said. “Especially in this weather, it was bound to happen.”

Florence was making just his second start of the season because cornerback Sammy Davis is out indefinitely because of a leg injury.

“I just played through his hands and read his eyes and made a big play,” Florence said.

Tomlinson finished with 113 yards on 30 carries, pushing him past the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season.

Brees, the biggest reason behind the Chargers’ turnaround, had his least-productive game of the season, completing just 14 of 27 passes for 106 yards and no touchdowns. His club-record streak of 194 passes without an interception ended in the first quarter when he overthrew Gates and was picked off by Kenoy Kennedy.

Plummer threw for 278 yards, but completed just 16 of 40 passes for no touchdowns.

Colts 51, Titans 24

Indianapolis — Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes, Edgerrin James ran for two more scores, and Indianapolis returned a blocked field goal for another TD.

Indianapolis (9-3) won its fifth straight by tying the NFL record for most consecutive 40-point games with four.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher’s strategy turned the game into a wild contest as he called three onside kicks in the first quarter, then attempted a fake punt in the third quarter.

Manning finished 25-for-33 for 425 yards with two interceptions as he moved within four TD passes of Dan Marino’s single-season record (48).

Patriots 42, Browns 15

Cleveland — Bethel Johnson returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and Corey Dillon rushed for 98 yards and two TDs before halftime. Randall Gay ran in a fumble 41 yards for a TD early in the second half as the Patriots (11-1) continued their best start in franchise history.

Dillon, who bruised his leg in the first half, carried just once in the second half and finished with 100 yards — his seventh 100-yard game this season.

The Browns (3-9) lost their sixth straight.

Eagles 47, Packers 17

Philadelphia — Donovan McNabb threw a career-high five touchdown passes in the first half and finished with a team-record 464 yards passing. Brian Westbrook had 11 catches for 156 yards and three TDs, and Terrell Owens caught eight passes for 161 yards and one score. McNabb set a team record by completing his first 14 passes and finished 32-of-43.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre threw two interceptions that led to Philadelphia’s first two scores.

Bucs 27, Falcons 0

Tampa, Fla. — Making Michael Vick look ordinary for much of the day, the Bucs (5-7) kept the Falcons (9-3) from clinching the NFC South.

Simeon Rice became the 22nd player in league history to reach 100 sacks, getting Vick on the ground twice and forcing a fumble.

Derrick Brooks tipped an ill-advised pass that Dwight Smith intercepted in the end zone and sacked Vick once to force a fumble that led to a field goal.

Bengals 27, Ravens 26

Baltimore — Down by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, the Bengals pierced the proud Baltimore defense for 24 points over the final 15 minutes. Shayne Graham kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bengals their first win in Baltimore (7-5) in eight tries since 1996.

Matt Stover’s fourth field goal put Baltimore up 26-24 with 1:42 left, but Carson Palmer calmly drove Cincinnati (6-6) into position for the winning kick, covering 60 yards in seven plays.

Bears 24, Vikings 14

Chicago — Chad Hutchinson tossed three TD passes. Since the Bears (5-7) signed Hutchinson in September, he had spent most of time as a third-stringer.

Minnesota (7-5) saw its playoff chances hurt for the second straight year by a late-season loss to the Bears. Daunte Culpepper was intercepted three times — he had only seven before Sunday.

Jets 29, Texans 7

East Rutherford, N.J. — While Chad Pennington’s return from a strained right rotator cuff was far from perfect, Curtis Martin was stellar yet again.

Pennington, back after missing three games, directed three second-half touchdown drives, and Martin added his seventh 100-yard game of the season to help the Jets (9-3) stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

The Jets had another solid defensive effort, shutting out the Texans (5-7) in the second half. Martin had 134 yards on 23 carries.

Bills 42, Dolphins 32

Miami — Drew Bledsoe threw four touchdown passes, and the Bills forced seven turnovers.

The Bills (6-6) have scored 117 points in the past three games, all victories, and they’re in playoff contention despite an 0-4 start. They completed a season sweep of the Dolphins (2-10), who fell to 0-8 against AFC opponents.

A.J. Feeley threw three touchdown passes.

Rams 16, 49ers 6

St. Louis — Steven Jackson ran for 119 yards on 26 carries to help St. Louis compensate for Marc Bulger’s shoulder injury. Bulger had taken every snap this season before leaving because of a sprained right shoulder after a sack by Bryant Young late in the first quarter. His replacement, 38-year-old Chris Chandler, threw his first touchdown pass in more than a year.

The Rams (6-6) added three field goals from Jeff Wilkins, two from 52 yards.

Panthers 32, Saints 21

New Orleans — John Kasay booted six field goals, a team record. It was the Panthers’ fourth victory in a row, and, in the weak NFC, their 5-7 record has them in the middle of the wild-card race.

The defending NFC champions stopped the Saints’ second-half effort with two interceptions, including one on the Carolina 11-yard line.

The Saints (4-8) have lost three straight.

Redskins 31, Giants 7

Landover, Md.– The Redskins finally scored 20 points. The historic moment occurred with 41 seconds left in the first half, when tight end Robert Royal cradled Patrick Ramsey’s nine-yard pass for Royal’s first career touchdown.

The Redskins (4-8) broke a three-game losing streak and broke the 20-point barrier for the first time since Joe Gibbs returned as coach, ending their longest such drought since the 1930s.

Clinton Portis ran for 148 yards and scored twice. Portis has 1,093 yards on the season, giving him 1,000-plus in each of his first three years. The Redskins are 4-0 when Portis runs for 100 yards, 0-8 when he doesn’t.

Derrick Ward’s 92-yard kickoff return in the third quarter was the only score for the Giants (5-7), who have lost five straight.

Steelers 17, Jaguars 16

Jacksonville, Fla.– Ben Roethlisberger had plenty of help in this victory.

The rookie quarterback extended both his and Pittsburgh’s winning streak to 10 games by engineering a last-minute drive to set up a 37-yard field goal by Jeff Reed with 18 seconds left.

The drive covered 56 yards in six plays after Josh Scobee made a 36-yard field goal with 1:55 left to give the Jaguars the lead.

Bill Cowher used all three of his timeouts before the two-minute warning as Jacksonville was driving for the go-ahead field goal, preserving plenty of time for his offense. Then Roethlisberger was 3-of-4 for 39 yards on the winning drive, and the one incompletion was a spike.

Lions 26, Cardinals 12

Detroit — Kevin Jones ran for 196 yards and a touchdown, ending the Lions’ five-game losing streak.

Jason Hanson was 4-for-4 on field goals, and Dre’ Bly had two interceptions for the Lions (5-7).

Arizona (4-8) lost its third straight.