NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Norv Turner must decide how much to play, and rest, his San Diego Chargers now that they’ve clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
His quarterback will do whatever he’s told, but he has a suggestion.
“As a competitor, I want to go out and play,” Philip Rivers said.

Rivers doesn’t want to risk cooling off after throwing for two touchdowns and guiding the streaking Chargers to a 42-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Friday night. The AFC West champs earned the right to rest by winning their 10th straight game this season and matching the NFL record with their 18th consecutive win in December.
The Miami Dolphins won 18 straight November games between 1970 and 1974.
“It’s nice that we’ve won 18 in a row,” Rivers said. “It’s a team accomplishment. Obviously, the head coach and quarterback get tied to the record, but it takes all of us to go out and win 18 in December. We’d like to go out and get a streak going in January.”
Turner isn’t hinting about his plans. He wants to see how his Chargers practice before deciding what to do against Washington in the regular-season finale.
“It doesn’t guarantee you anything,” Turner said of the bye week. “You have to still go play. There have been a number of teams, without the bye, not only make the Super Bowl but win the whole thing.”
San Diego (12-3) punted on the opening drive. Then Rivers went to work, guiding the Chargers to touchdowns on six of the next seven possessions. The only time they didn’t score in that stretch was when he knelt down to run out the final seconds of the first half.
“It’s as good a rhythm as we’ve been in all year,” Rivers said. “It felt like a guy that’s hit a couple of 3-point shots in a row.”
San Diego outgained Tennessee 425-270 in total offense while holding the ball for 39 minutes. Turner credited his offensive line, which featured Nick Hardwick back at center after being out since the opener, with letting Rivers play and throw for 264 yards.
Tennessee (7-8) already had made NFL history by getting back to .500 after an 0-6 start. The Titans entered their final home game with faint playoff hopes but those evaporated sometime in the second quarter when Vince Young had two of his three turnovers, which San Diego turned into 21 points.
Chris Johnson’s quest to become only the sixth NFL player to run for 2,000 yards in a season remains alive as the only goal left for Tennessee. He ran for a TD and 142 yards to put him at 1,872 with the season finale at Seattle left. He also notched his 10th straight 100-yard rushing game, putting him behind only Barry Sanders (14) and Marcus Allen (11).
He is 234 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards.
“Anything’s doable,” Johnson said. “I feel like I can do it.”
LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a pair of 1-yard TDs, and Darren Sproles caught a TD pass and rushed for two more scores as San Diego beat Tennessee for the seventh straight time. Brandon Siler and Eric Weddle each had an interception, and Stephen Cooper recovered a fumble.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher is 0-6 against San Diego.
“This team had, it had life. It had a lot of life, and then we just kind of lost it,” Fisher said.
Did they ever.
Aside from Young’s turnovers, the Titans matched their season high with nine penalties. Linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton, whose seasons are over because of injuries, tried to give pointers on the sideline.
Even defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil cost the team a penalty flag — a 15-yarder for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I don’t know exactly what was said, but I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Fisher said.
Not much didn’t go San Diego’s way, and now the Chargers can rest after having to travel across the country on a short week. Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer said his teammates focus better than anything he’s seen in his eight years.
“It is a great run, but at the same time, we still need to buckle down. We still have one more to play, and then we start to get into the serious business,” Jammer said.
NOTES: San Diego went 7-1 on the road this season. ... Rivers has thrown a TD pass in 12 straight games, extending his career-best streak. ... The Titans had won five straight home games.