"It was the tackle felt around the team.

When Philip Rivers took down Dallas Cowboys safety Barry Church at the end of a second-quarter fumble return that almost everyone in the stadium figured was destined for the end zone, Rivers did more than stop a touchdown in a meaningless game. He showed with that head-on tackle exactly what he means to the Chargers -- beyond the NFL's best passer rating (105.0) over the past two seasons.

"He's our fearless leader," defensive end Jacques Cesaire said. "When you see stuff like that, you know you have to pick up your game. That's the type of leadership … guys are attracted to and rally around. If there was ever any question if he was the leader of this team, that play, plain and simple, answered that. And I don't think there was any doubt anyway. He's always been our leader."

Of course, there was the danger of the leader getting hurt, something head coach Norv Turner acknowledged even as he praised Rivers afterward.

Rivers never doubted he should make the tackle.

"Preseason, whatever it is, how do you just let a guy go?" Rivers said. "I don't think it was anything special, it was just reaction."

He just didn't know if he'd be able to pull it off as 6-foot-3, 260-pound linebacker Anthony Spencer appeared poised to block for Church."