CHARLOTTE, N.C. – LaDainian Tomlinson ran right, smack into a Carolina defender. He went left and was tackled again. Almost everywhere the San Diego running back went, the Panthers’ maligned run defense was there to stop him.

Only once did Tomlinson have any running room, and that was enough.

Tomlinson scored on a 8-yard touchdown run Sunday to lift San Diego to a 17-6 win over Carolina that equaled the Chargers’ (4-3) win total from last season.

It was a disheartening loss for Carolina (1-5). The defending NFC champions have lost four straight and had pointed to this game as one that could turn around the season.

Instead, the Panthers let it slip away with an inefficient offense and very questionable play selection late in the game.

Trailing 10-6 with 6:29 to play, the Panthers used three long pass plays to Keary Colbert to move into scoring range.

But after a sure touchdown slipped through Muhsin Muhammad’s fingers in the end zone, the Panthers seemed to panic. They ran Nick Goings for 5 yards gain on second-and-15 at the 30, then handed off to rookie Joey Harris on third-and-10.

Harris barley gained a yard, seemingly setting Carolina up for John Kasay’s field goal. Instead, the Panthers went for it and Muhammad failed to make the reception to keep the drive alive.

Carolina’s run defense, which stifled Tomlinson the entire game, finally cracked. And Jesse Chatman broke free for a 52-yard gain, then scored the game-breaking touchdown on a 5-yard run with 1:42 to play in a near-empty stadium.

It was such a lackluster game – the Panthers led 6-0 until Tomlinson’s touchdown with 8:13 to play in the third – that the largest cheer of the day came when the stadium scoreboard showed rival Atlanta getting blown out by Kansas City.

But the Panthers failed to close the gap on the Falcons, even after one of their best defensive performances.

Carolina held Tomlinson, who led the AFC in yards from scrimmage with 724, to 47 yards rushing. He also had three catches for 13 yards.

Chatman added 69 yards rushing, almost all on the final drive, and the Chargers finished with 302 yards total offense.

But Carolina couldn’t do anything, despite opening the game with a 12-play scoring drive. But the Panthers couldn’t get into the end zone, and had to settle for Kasay’s 28-yard field goal.

Tomlinson fumbled on his first carry, giving Carolina possession at the San Diego 34, but the Panthers again didn’t score a touchdown. Kasay’s 21-yarder put them up 6-0.

It stayed that way until Tomlinson reached the end zone in the third quarter.

Keenan McCardell, acquired Tuesday in a trade with Tampa Bay, showed no signs of rust from missing the first six games of the season during a holdout. He started and helped set up Tomlinson’s touchdown with a pair of catches on the 64-yard scoring drive. He finished with 65 yards on five catches.

AP-ES-10-24-04 1627EDT