CHARGERS 35, BRONCOS 27:
LaDainian Tomlinson needs a new nickname. There's just not enough room in pro football history for two guys named L.T. There should never be another hoopster who goes by M.J. or another hockey player known as Espo. I don't care how great the next guy is, or what his driver's license says. But that doesn't mean Tomlinson can't be considered the greatest L.T. to ever play football.

After scoring four touchdowns Sunday night — finishing his 89th game with 102 career TDs — the time is now to rank Tomlinson not only among the greatest running backs of all time, but with the NFL's best ever, at any position.

Comparing individual football players always involves the proverbial apples and oranges. It's too much of a team sport to give credit for things done — and not done — without considering teammates, opponents or generation. Sometimes you just have to recognize an all-time talent and leave it at that. Lawrence Taylor was one. LaDainian Tomlinson is another. But the Chargers running back is only 27, and he sure is making a case for being the greatest L.T. in pro football history.

• Tomlinson was selected fifth in the 2001 NFL draft, behind Michael Vick (Atlanta), Leonard Davis (Arizona), Gerard Warren (Cleveland) and Justin Smith (Cincinnati). He dusts 'em all, including Vick, who is a legend only in terms of Madden 2004. In Bill Simmons' latest mailbag, a reader noted that no one outside Atlanta is overly impressed with Vick's typical game stats of "9-for-19, 105 yards, no TDs, 1 INT, 8 rushes, 90 yards, 1 fumble." On Sunday, Vick went 11-for-21, 127 yards, 1 TD, no INTs, 6 rushes, 54 yards, 0 fumbles, in a loss at Baltimore. Talk about dead on. And generally unimpressive. Vick's 8.5 yards per carry (704 yards on 83 rushes) in 2006 is absolutely sick, but his 140 completions in 10 games is horrid.

• Great job by John Madden on Sunday night, when he lauded Tomlinson for not putting on a celebratory show after his historic scores. That's a pro, man. When you're that bad-ass, you don't have to remind people to pay attention to ya. They already do.

• Jake Plummer ... 13-for-28, 183 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, two fumbles. Yikes.

COWBOYS 21, COLTS 14
As a Giants fan, this one hurt, as it would've meant playing in Jacksonville on Monday with house money. As it is, we need to win to keep a one-game cushion and a tie-breaker over the Cowboys, whom we dismantled in Dallas a few weeks back with a much healthier team.

Next week, Dallas hosts Tampa Bay, and we visit Tennessee. The most likely scenario for the Giants (1-1 against the Jags and Titans, while the Cowboys beat the Bucs) would be an NFC East tie when Dallas rolls into the Meadowlands on Dec. 3, with a chance to take a one-game lead and solidify a head-to-head tie-breaker with four to play. (That game, thankfully, has been protected by FOX to not get moved to NBC's 8:15 p.m. slot. I'll be there in a semi-psychotic state.)

• Mike Vanderjagt ... Missed both field-goal attempts (from 43 and 46 yards out) in a nail-biter against his old team. Yikes.

OHIO STATE 42, MICHIGAN 39
I picked up this game at 7-7, and watched every remaining play at a bar with the sound inaudible. (Notice I didn't say "off." The sound was on, but not loud enough to hear the commentary, which was doubly maddening.) Whenever I watch games like that, it's like reading a book instead of waiting for the movie. Your impressions cannot be influenced by booth "experts," or whichever prime-time drama star happens to show up because he works for the network and grew up in the state.

And my impression, the whole way through, was that Ohio State performed much better than Michigan, with as much separation as any three-point game could provide.

Ohio State lucked out on one play, when Chad Henne missed a wide-open Mario Mario Manningham, on what should have been an early score. But Michigan lucked out twice when OSU turned the ball over on bad snaps, which the Wolverines did nothing to force, other than to line up 11 men on defense.

It would have been worse — and it should have been worse — for Michigan, which does not deserve, at this point, a re-match for the national championship. If you're gonna hype the game like it was, you have to respect the final and not relegate to a moot point, giving the Wolverines a free pass and not allowing Ohio State a rubber match if the national championship goes the other way.

You simply cannot endorse a situation where Big Ten runner-up Michigan could finish 12-1 (and 1-1 against Ohio State) and be awarded the national championship over 12-1 Big Ten champ Ohio State (who would be 1-1 against Michigan).

• Less than an hour after the Buckeyes' 42-39 victory, the lucky numbers in the Ohio State lottery were 4-2-3-9. The state lost money on the drawing, as 401 $1 bets picked the correct order, while 913 more bets included 4-2-3-9 in some arrangement.

• This blog post analyzes, in order of pro potential, the 15 possible NFL draft picks that took part in the big game.

Other Sports Thoughts:

• USC is 43-2 in its last 45 football games, since a triple-overtime loss to Cal in September 2003. Those losses came in last year's title game against Texas (which they led with less than half-a-minute to go) and a a two-point loss at Oregon State last month (in which they failed a 2-point conversion to tie with seven seconds left). Absolutely incredible.

• A rite of summer is to bitch about the way baseball is going, by writing a list of top 10 ways to fix the game or some shit. Well, the 8-year, $136-million deal the Cubs have agreed to pay Alfonso Soriano hints at how prosperous things have been under Bud Selig.

• If Barry Bonds really does sign with the A's as a free agent, will Giants fans finally admit they cheered for a total ass for 14 seasons?