SAN DIEGO -- It's a telling rule of thumb. If the Chargers fall behind by 10 points, their style of play makes it hard to come back. The place that spawned Air Coryell belongs to Ground Marty, meaning the Chargers must stay close to have a chance to win.

LaDainian Tomlinson is the running back of coach Marty Schottenheimer's dreams. Tomlinson is a great runner. Plus, Schottenheimer brags about Tomlinson being one of the best people he's met in the game.

Trailing by 10 points on the last play of the first quarter of the 30-27 overtime victory Sunday over the Denver Broncos, Tomlinson proved he can carry the Chargers on his back.

"Sometimes, I believe you have to lead by example," Tomlinson said. "We were behind, so if I saw a hole, I thought, 'Man, this opportunity is one that I have to step up and lead by example and not just talking all the time."

	“	I knew at the beginning of the week, the Chargers were going to rely on me a lot. Curtis Conway was hurt and couldn't play. Tim Dwight (ribs) was hurt. We had two rookies (Reche Caldwell and Eric Parker) at receiver. I knew we were going to run the ball a lot. I had the mind-set the whole week that I was going to do whatever it takes to win the game. ”
		— LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers running back

Tomlinson broke to his left for what appeared to be a simple run. As he seems to do with more consistency each week, he made another defender miss. First, it was the linebackers. Cornerback Denard Walker had a shot. No go. Safety Kenoy Kennedy left his feet and whiffed. Tomlinson raced 76 yards to the Broncos' 3-yard line. On the next play, he scored a touchdown. He scored two more touchdowns in a 24-point second quarter, and that still wasn't enough.

"L.T. is a guy who can have it every play," quarterback Drew Brees said. "If that what we need to win, he's going to do it."

Face it, the Falcons are winning because the Chargers traded them Michael Vick. But LaDainian Tomlinson is San Diego's Michael Vick. Tomlinson rushed for 220 yards on 37 carries and caught 11 passes for 51 yards.

Tomlinson is the workhorse. He had 39 carries in the Chargers' victory in Oakland in October. Throughout the fourth quarter and into overtime, 66,357 fans chanted, "L.T., L.T." Brees stood five feet in front of him and called his name more than the fans.

"I knew at the beginning of the week, the Chargers were going to rely on me a lot," Tomlinson said. "Curtis Conway was hurt and couldn't play. Tim Dwight (ribs) was hurt. We had two rookies (Reche Caldwell and Eric Parker) at receiver. I knew we were going to run the ball a lot. I had the mind-set the whole week that I was going to do whatever it takes to win the game."

This Chargers team is held together by surgical tape, glue and heart. The Chargers have played the past couple of weeks without two of their top three offensive tackles. Cornerback Ryan McNeil was out with a broken arm, so two of their top three cornerbacks were inexperienced. In the fourth quarter, Broncos guard Steve Herndon rolled up and broke the ankle of potential Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jamal Williams, ending his season.

"We just hang in there," defensive end Marcellus Wiley said. "We may have the ropes around our neck, but sometimes, we climb the rope. These games are a test of our character and heart, not so much physically, but emotionally. We definitely have things happen in a dramatic rate."

Tomlinson said the Chargers had a team meeting earlier this week because he and others sensed something wrong. They had lost three of four games, and when the Chargers lose, they lose big. Their average defeat is by 20¼ points.

"I think we were lacking fire," Tomlinson said. "We didn't have that killer instinct to put a team away. So, we just had to check ourselves a little bit. We had a players meeting and we checked ourselves. We played with pride and with a lot of heart."

With so many problems because of injuries and thin personnel at key positions, the Chargers knew they had to take advantage of opportunities. Falling behind by more than 10 points neutralizes Tomlinson's impact on games. After all, he was responsible for 48 of the team's 80 offensive plays because the game was close enough for him to be a factor. Falling behind by more than 10 points puts the game in the hands of Brees, who doesn't have the benefit of throwing those screen and flat passes to No. 21.

That's where the Broncos helped. They didn't stack the line of scrimmage with defenders. They played their basic "Cover 2" scheme. Rarely did a safety come to the line of scrimmage to challenge Tomlinson.

"They didn't have as many players in the box (between the tackles) as they did in the last game," Brees said. "They must have thought we were going to look at the film of other games and thought we were going to throw it 60 times. Still, there were guys there to make the tackle, but Tomlinson made them miss. It's not as if our offensive line was blowing out guys. I have to watch a safety with my reads. Figuring he's accounting for me, that takes one guy out of the equations, so L.T. has to make just one guy miss."

The 24-point second quarter allowed the Chargers to carry a 24-17 lead into the second half. Three Broncos turnovers helped keep them from taking a lead. Eventually, the Broncos defense got it, so they pounded Tomlinson for a few losses on screens and flat passes. But that's OK, the Chargers were still exhausting time from the clock.

"We probably went to the well too many times on that, so you figured they would stop them," Brees said.

But the drama built even more in the fourth quarter. Leading 27-24, the Chargers had two chances to stick the dagger in the Broncos, but didn't. From the Broncos' 21 with 9:43 left in regulation, Brees came inches short of converting a fourth-and-1. From the Broncos' 31, Schottenheimer opted to go for a 49-yard field goal by Steve Christie with 5:07 left. Christie missed, and the Broncos tied the game with a 24-yard Jason Elam field goal.

OT is for L.T., but the Chargers almost blew it. Tomlinson had four carries for 40 yards to put them on the Broncos' 19. Christie's 38-yard field goal was blocked, and the team feared the worst when Elam lined up three minutes later for a 53-yard field goal.

Linebacker Junior Seau said he started to remove tape from his hands. Tomlinson said he thought Elam was going to make the kick. After all, Elam has been the AFC Pro Bowl kicker three of the past six years. But Elam missed to his left.

"I just had a feeling it was over," Tomlinson said.

Still, Tomlinson came back and had six more runs for 17 yards, and Stephen Alexander caught a 20-yard pass near the sidelines. Christie won the game with a 27-yard field goal with 3:01 left in overtime.

Tomlinson was too exhausted to celebrate. His right wrist throbbed and was swollen from constant hits. Teammate Terrell Fletcher had to carry his helmet. He was too tired to celebrate.

"Still, it was an overwhelming experience I had at the end of the game," Tomlinson said. "It was just feeling that the game was over."

And, at 8-4, the Chargers were back in first, waiting for the game next Sunday against the rival Raiders.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.