SAN DIEGO – Drew Brees has never looked better than he did against the rival Oakland Raiders.

Brees continued his remarkable turnaround from last season’s catastrophe, throwing a career-high five touchdown passes and setting the team single-game record for pass efficiency in leading the surprising San Diego Chargers to a 42-14 rout of the hapless Raiders on Sunday.

The Chargers are 5-3 at the season’s midpoint and tied for the AFC West lead with Denver, which lost to Atlanta.

Brees completed his first eight passes Sunday, helping to quiet the thousands of Raiders fans in the stands, and was 22-of-25 overall – 88 percent – for 281 yards. He had no interceptions for the fifth time in six games.

The previous team record was 81.8 percent by Rick Neuheisel, the replacement quarterback during the 1987 strike. Brees completed 80 percent of his passes, 16 of 20, against Tennessee on Oct. 3 to tie Hall of Famer Dan Fouts for second on the team’s all-time list.

Brees has thrown 14 touchdown passes against just three interceptions this year, compared to his 15 interceptions and 11 TDs last year.

The Chargers tried to make Brees the scapegoat for an NFL-worst 4-12 season, a move that backfired when Philip Rivers, obtained in a draft-day deal with the New York Giants, missed the first month of training camp in a contract holdout, allowing Brees to keep his job.

He hit tight end Antonio Gates with scoring passes of 5 yards and 1 yard on consecutive drives in the third quarter to give the Chargers a 42-7 lead. The second scoring pass to Gates came on fourth down, and the former Kent State basketball star spiked the ball through the uprights. He normally throws the ball to an official.

Brees’ five TD passes tied him for second-most in team history, one behind Fouts, who threw six at Oakland on Nov. 22, 1981. His previous best for touchdown passes in a game was three, which he did three times previously.

The Chargers scored their most points since Doug Flutie led them to a 42-28 win over Minnesota last Nov. 9, the day Brees began a five-game benching because of his inconsistency.

It was just the second time the Chargers scored more than 40 points in their last 132 games dating to 1996.

Brees’ first three TD passes Sunday went 17 yards to tight end Justin Peelle in the first quarter, 13 yards to Keenan McCardell and 23 yards to Tim Dwight in the second. The Chargers led 28-7 at halftime.

The Raiders (2-6) lost their fifth straight game. Kerry Collins was intercepted twice – giving him 11 in 51/2 games since replacing the injured Rich Gannon – and the Raiders were held to 22 yards rushing.

LaDainian Tomlinson, slowed the last four games by a strained groin, scored on a 1-yard dive over the pile for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. He finished with 71 yards on 19 carries. His backup, Jesse Chatman, gained 61 yards on 10 carries.

Tyrone Wheatley scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter and Collins threw a 13-yard TD pass to Doug Jolley in the fourth for the Raiders.

Collins was 24-of-39 for 263 yards.

AP-ES-10-31-04 1934EST