Life was good Sunday for Philip Rivers. The Chargers beat the Titans to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2006. (AP)

San Diego QB Philip Rivers was without two of his most dynamic weapons with TE Antonio Gates (ribs) and RB Ryan Mathews (right clavicle) out. In true Rivers fashion, he made stars out of backups. RB Jackie Battle (two) and TE Dante Rosario (three) had multi-TD performances to lead the Chargers (2-0) to a 38-10 victory over the Titans (0-2).
 
Rosario’s first two touchdowns came early in the first quarter to give San Diego a 14-0 lead. Rosario went to the locker room midway through the second quarter with a right calf strain but returned to the game in the second half. Rosario then caught his third TD on a 15-yard pass from Rivers late in the third quarter.
 
Without Mathews, the Chargers running game was effective as a committee. Battle (69), Curtis Brinkley (43), FB Le’Ron McClain (19) and Ronnie Brown combined for 146 yards on the ground. Rivers also ran for two yards. Battle iced the game with two, 1-yard TD runs in the 4th quarter.
 
Titans RB Chris Johnson only rushed for 17 yards on eight attempts. Last week, Johnson rushed for a career-low four yards on 11 carries. In both games, the Titans trailed early and basically abandoned their ground game.  
 
When the game turned: Chargers FS Eric Weddle intercepted the first pass thrown by QB Jake Locker and returned the ball eight yards to the Titans 31-yard line. Six plays later, Rivers found Rosario on a 4-yard pass for their second TD connection of the game. This gave the Chargers a 14-0 lead with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter and allowed the San Diego defense to play aggressively for the remainder of the day.
 
“It put us ahead the whole game,” Weddle said of his interception being converted into a TD. “You can eliminate a lot of what an offense can do when they're down. They can’t just sit back and run their normal stuff. They got to get back in the game quick. That gives you the advantage to play aggressive and you are not so much worried about the run.”
 
Highlight moments: The Chargers were only 1 of 5 in the red zone against the Raiders on Monday night. It appeared the offense was going to sputter again on their first two possessions, but twice Rivers found Rosario on a third down play for 11- and 4-yard scores.
 
Top-shelf performances: Rivers was 24 of 32 for 284 yards and three TDs with one INT for a passer rating 119.8. Rosario caught all four passes thrown his way for 48 yards and three touchdowns. WR Malcom Floyd had six receptions for 109 yards. Titans S Michael Griffin had an astonishing 18 combined tackles (16 solo, 2 assists).
 
Head scratcher: Down 17-0 midway through the second quarter, coach Mike Munchak elected to kick a 23-yard field goal instead of going for a fourth-and-4 on the Chargers' 5-yard line. This was the right call in most circumstances, but a TD could have given the Titans' struggling offense an emotional boost.
 
What they said about Rosario (free agent, Broncos):
 
Chargers coach Norv Turner -- “Dante is a good player. We brought him here because he’s a good receiver. We actually brought him in here because over the last couple of seasons, Gates hasn’t played all the games.”
 
QB Philip Rivers -- “He was very comfortable out there. He is just a smooth guy. He is a smooth route runner.”
 
Numbers you should know: With the win, general manager A.J. Smith became the winningest GM in Chargers history with 93. Sid Gillman had 92... Rosario set a career high with his three-TD performance. They were his first touchdowns since Sept. 29, 2009 for Carolina against Dallas. It was the first three-touchdown game by a Chargers TE since Antonio Gates had three against the Chiefs on Oct, 20, 2005... The Chargers held the ball for 43:39, their highest time of possession since Oct 8., 1978 when they possessed the ball for 45:17 in a game vs. Denver.  The win gives the Chargers their first 2-0 start under coach Norv Turner (1997-present). Coach Marty Schottenheimer led the Chargers to a 2-0 start in 2006 and a 14-2 overall record for the Bolts' best regular season in franchise history.
 
Injury update: The Chargers reported two injuries: Rosario (calf) and WR Eddie Royal (shoulder). No injuries were reported by the Titans.
 
Going forward: Chargers -- The Chargers will host the Falcons (1-0) on Sunday. Atlanta had a convincing 40-24 win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead in their season opener and will play the Broncos on Monday night. … Titans -- The season may already be on the line and the schedule is not doing Tennessee any favors. The difficult start to the season will continue as they host the Lions on  Sunday (1-0). Detroit played the 49ers (1-0) in San Francisco on Sunday Night Football.
 
Follow Chargers reporter Dan McLellan on Twitter @CBSChargers and @sandiegosports