SAN DIEGO (AP) - With one respectful eye cast on the past, LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers try to keep alive their precarious run toward a second straight playoff berth.

The defending AFC West champion Chargers (5-4), who've already lost as many games as they did last year, return from their bye week to host Willis McGahee and the wildly inconsistent Buffalo Bills (4-5) on Sunday in a matchup of star running backs and original AFL teams.

At halftime, Lance Alworth will have his No. 19 jersey retired, the honor coming 27 years after the wide receiver - known as ``Bambi'' for his speed and grace - became the first player from the AFL enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

``Obviously we all know the great things he did when he was here, and being a Hall of Famer, this is going to be a special weekend,'' Tomlinson said of Alworth, who dropped by practice during the week. ``We definitely want to make it special for him by letting him enjoy a good game. It was great to see him.''

In a nod to Alworth's era, the Chargers will wear their powder-blue throwback jerseys and white helmets with yellow lighting bolts and black numbers.

Coming off their bye week, the Chargers will try to extend their two-game winning streak, their most recent victory a close call against the woeful New York Jets.

The Chargers are two games behind the division-leading Denver Broncos.

``There's always a sense of urgency,'' tight end Antonio Gates said. ``There's no guarantees in this league. We understand that. More important to us is we're still defending our title, with seven games to go. The approach we're taking the last seven games is that we are the AFC West champs, until someone takes that from us.''

Tomlinson is considered by many to be the best player in the NFL, let alone the best running back. McGahee said recently he considers himself the NFL's best running back.

Tomlinson has gotten the third-most Pro Bowl votes of any NFL player, which he attributes to his triple-threat status.

``I think throwing touchdown passes has helped me out this year,'' Tomlinson said with a laugh. ``People love to see me throw the football.''

Tomlinson has thrown three touchdowns this season on three attempts, and has four in his career. He's one short of the record for running backs, shared by New England's Andy Johnson (1981) and Philadelphia's Keith Byars (1990).

Tomlinson is second in the NFL with 15 touchdowns (13 rushing), fourth with 1,099 total yards from scrimmage and sixth in rushing with 835 yards.

McGahee is fourth in rushing with 856 yards, but has scored only four TDs. Plus, he hasn't scored in three straight games and has just one TD on the road.

That is one of several inconsistencies for the Bills.

The Bills are 0-4 on the road, where they've allowed a whopping 335 yards per game, as well as 11 touchdowns, while scoring only four TDs as they've struggled inside the 20-yard-line.

With all that, the Bills are buoyed because they sit one game behind New England in the AFC East.

J.P. Losman is expected to start at quarterback, although coach Mike Mularkey likes to wait until close to gametime to announce a decision. Mularkey held out hope Kelly Holcomb would be ready after sustaining a concussion last weekend.

Losman better hope he starts - the Venice, Calif., native, bought about 450 tickets for family and friends.

The Bills are coming off a 14-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

``How do we break our road struggles? Get a win,'' McGahee said. ``It's going to take the same ball we just played against Kansas City, the defense stepping up. Offense, we've got to step up and make some touchdowns. They put us in touchdown situations and we didn't get in there.''

The Bills allowed Kansas City's Larry Johnson to rush for 132 yards, but no TDs.

The difference between Johnson and Tomlinson is ``LaDainian is first and foremost more of a pass-receiving threat,'' Bills linebacker London Fletcher said. ``He's also more patient than Johnson was this past week. He's shiftier. That's three things right there. But he creates a problem because he's patient, he's very good at setting his blocks up and also getting guys out of their run gaps.''

While the Chargers have the NFL's top-ranked run defense, they're not so hot in points allowed, ranking 20th. Buffalo, on the other hand, has the 31st-ranked run defense, but is tied for eighth in points allowed.

``It's kind of misleading, because they'll give up a big run, but then they'll shut the guy down for one or two yards, a lot, then the guy might get a big run,'' Tomlinson said. ``I don't really get caught up in the stats and all the other stuff. People get geared up to stop our running game. That's just the way it is.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.