ALL THE KING NEEDS NOW IS A CROWN.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL

SAN DIEGO - When the San Diego Chargers, with the AFC West title already assured, recovered a fumble at the Denver 7-yard line late in the fourth quarter, it didn't feel like garbage time.

It felt like a coronation.

The offense sprinted onto the field, a pair of defenders -- Clinton Hart and Drayton Florence -- stopped to pat running back La Dainian Tomlinson on the helmet and the sellout crowd of 67,514 rose to its feet chanting ``L.T., L.T.''

If Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron had sent in the play over the Qualcomm Stadium loudspeaker, it wouldn't have mattered.

With Tomlinson one touchdown shy of breaking the NFL single-season scoring record, everyone knew where the ball was going. The Broncos, during the break for change of possession, even knew how: 50 Power, a pulling guard, smashmouth remnant of Marty Ball they'd seen for much of the afternoon.

``They knew it was coming,'' Chargers guard Kris Dielman said. ``They were saying it (the play) and we were agreeing.''

Still, stopping Tomlinson, who bounced around left end, shrugged off cornerback Darrent Williams and tiptoed inside the pylon for his record-setting 29th touchdown, is no easy chore -- whether you know what's coming or not.

The same goes for the Chargers.

San Diego's 48-20 battering of the Broncos, its seventh consecutive win, improved the Chargers to an AFC-best 11-2, and gives them pole position for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Chargers certainly look the part. The Colts and the Patriots look like Super Bowl contenders by reputation only after being thrashed Sunday by the Jaguars and Dolphins, respectively. It was the Colts' third consecutive road loss, and the Patriots' shutout comes on the heels of barely beating the Lions.

``There are matchups and who's to say? That's why the playoffs are always different,'' said Broncos safety John Lynch, who has played all four division leaders. ``But right now these guys are playing as well as anybody in the league. They're pretty darn good right now.''

The Chargers did lose to the Baltimore Ravens, 16-13, Oct.1, but that seems like a different era. After sitting on a lead and letting it get away late, Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer was excoriated afterward, his critics using it as an example of why he's the NFL's winningest coach to never reach a Super Bowl or NFL title game.

Since then, the Chargers no longer baby quarterback Philip Rivers, in his first year as a starter and playing with a rookie left tackle, Marcus McNeill.

They are the NFL's highest-scoring team and have hit the 40-point barrier fourtimes this season.

``I think we're still an ascending team,'' Rivers said. ``Offensively, the whole bit -- and that's a good thing because we're hitting the home stretch and now we know we're in the tournament. We can be scary here and I think we're on our way, but we haven't topped out.''

The Chargers' second touchdown showed just how freewheeling Schottenheimer has become. With second-and-1 at the Broncos 4, the ball was snapped to Rivers in a shortened shotgun formation and he slipped the ball between the legs of fullback Lorenzo Neal, who was a step in front of him.

As Rivers ran right with Tomlinson, Neal pulled the ball from between his legs and ran left on a play dubbed ``Bum-blerooski,'' a nod to former NFL coach Bum Phillips, the father of Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

When Neal plowed into the end zone, Schottenheimer shook his head and smiled on the sideline, mouthing, ``That's crazy.''

That's an apt description for the Chargers scoring 83 points in two games against a defense that has allowed 153 in its other 11 games.

On Sunday, they did it mainly by leaning on Antonio Gates early. With receivers Keenan McCardell and Malcolm Floyd sidelined and Eric Parker slowed by injury, and the Broncos focused on slowing Tomlinson, the Pro Bowl tight end caught seven passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

On both scores, Gates used the skills he once put to use as an all-conference power forward at Kent State.

He leaped to wrestle one pass away from Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, who had cheated off another route, for a 12-yard score. And later, with the Broncos in an all-out blitz and Rivers furiously backpedaling, he came down over Lynch with what was essentially a jump ball.

``That's my mind-set,'' Gates said. ``Every ball I see in the air I feel like is mine.''

The second score, a 7-yarder with 23 seconds left in the half, gave San Diego a 28-3 lead. Denver did manage to close within 28-20 early in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a fumbled kick return, a field goal and a pair of rookie-to-rookie touchdown passes from Jay Cutler to Tony Scheffler.

``But nobody panicked,'' Chargers guard Mike Goff said. ``Nobody got their pants in a bunch.''

Instead, Rivers hit Vincent Jackson for 55 yards, leading to a field goal. Then the defense clamped down, holding the Broncos twice on downs and Shawne Merriman stripping Cutler. The offense followed each one with scores, the last two touchdown runs by Tomlinson, whose 174 points are two shy of the NFL record set by Paul Hornung in 1960.

As the Chargers gathered in the huddle before Tomlinson's historic score, the player his teammates describe as a humble superstar, told them he wanted them to join him in the end zone.

``When we're old and can't play this game, those are the moments we are going to be able to remember,'' said Tomliinson, the likely league MVP. ``Being able to tell our kids, to tell our grandchildren -- not only me, the offensive line, our fullback Lorenzo, obviously the tight ends -- we can talk about something special that we did. There is no better feeling than to share it with the group of guys that are in the locker room.''

And so, as Tomlinson crossed the goal line, he turned back toward them, gave a quick wave of his hand and was soon engulfed by Goff, Dielman and the other eight offensive players. In a moment, Tomlinson was atop their shoulders.

``He's a king,'' Dielman said. ``And he should be treated like one.''

All that's missing now is a crown.

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San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson set a new NFL record with his 29th touchdown.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images