San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson wasn't the same Sunday.

His cuts weren't as sharp. His burst wasn't as explosive.

Struggling with a toe injury that has bothered him for most of the season, the five-time Pro Bowler couldn't even stay in the game for multiple carries in a row.

The best Tomlinson could muster against the Dolphins was an 11-yard, straight-forward plunge off the left side. He finished with 35 rushing yards on 12 carries and the Chargers lost 17-10 to fall to 2-3 on the season.

''It bothered me,'' Tomlinson said. ``When I got hit at times, it got stomped in the ground. It's something I expected. There's not really anything I can do about it.''

Tomlinson jammed his right big toe during the Chargers' season-opener against Carolina and hasn't been right since. Sunday, the injury kept him off the field for San Diego's most crucial moment. When the Chargers were set up with first-and-goal from the 10-yard line late in the third quarter and needed a touchdown to tie the game, it was Darren Sproles, not Tomlinson, who lined up in the backfield next to quarterback Philip Rivers.

Sproles carried twice for four yards before Rivers completed a 5-yard pass to Chris Chambers, setting up fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

Tomlinson finally got the ball, but he was stuffed in the backfield on the first play of the fourth quarter and the Chargers missed their best chance to tie the game.

''He gets that toe twisted, he gets it fallen on, he pushes off it certain ways and he has problems with it,'' San Diego coach Norv Turner said. ``Darren has given us a good changeup. Darren gave us the play that got us down there. That wasn't an issue. They did a great job on the goal line and we didn't get them knocked back the way we normally do.''

The most prolific running back of his generation with 133 touchdowns and almost 11,000 rushing yards in less than eight years in the league, Tomlinson has rushed for 331 yards and four touchdowns through five games this season and is on pace to run for the fewest yards of his career.

His average of 3.8 yards per carry is more than half a yard lower than his career average. He has broken the 100-yard mark only once, in a 106-yard, two-touchdown effort against Oakland in Week 4.

''It's frustrating because this is what people see with me right now,'' Tomlinson said. ``Whether I'm injured or not, they see the production is not there. I know that my toe is hurt, but at the same time there's nothing I can do about it. I've got to continue to try to fight through it and hopefully I can go out one game and the toe is fine and I can be me. But until then, I've got to do whatever I can to help this team win in other ways.''

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