Chargers TE Antonio Gates makes season debut, scores 100th, 101st touchdowns
San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates scored his 100th receiving touchdown Monday night in his first action of the season. Then he added another to jump to seventh on the all-time TD receptions list.
Gates scored on a 12-yard pass from Philip Rivers in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming the ninth player in NFL history to reach the 100-receiving-TDs milestone.
That left him in a three-way tie with Steve Largent and Tim Brown.
But in the fourth quarter, Rivers connected with Gates for their second touchdown of the night and the tie was broken.
Next on the list is Tony Gonzalez, the only tight end with more TDs than Gates -- with 111 to his credit.
Gates was added to the Chargers' active roster after serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Safety Adrian Phillips was waived to make room for Gates.
The Chargers were without two starters on the offensive line against the Steelers, tackle King Dunlap and guard Orlando Franklin. Receiver Stevie Johnson was also inactive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
