MINNEAPOLIS – It ultimately meant so little.

The longest play that has ever or will ever be in the NFL wound up being less fulfilling for Antonio Cromartie than the easiest touchdown he or anyone else could have ever scored the week before.

K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune Luis Castillo exults after sacking the Vikings' Brooks Bollinger. Castillo later left the game because of ankle and knee injuries.

“It is a thrill, but it is a bittersweet thrill,” Cromartie said of his 109-yard return of a missed field goal. “The record means nothing to me. I'd rather have a victory than be in the record books.”

Still, it was thrilling to watch. And while Adrian Peterson's NFL record of 296 rushing yards set yesterday will likely someday be topped, no one will be able to beat Cromartie's mark. It simply is impossible to run more than 109 yards on an NFL field – 100 yards from goal line to goal line, plus 10 yards for an end zone.

If it were, Cromartie would have done it. As it was, after he caught Ryan Longwell's 57-yard field goal attempt at the back of the end zone, he was just inches from going out of bounds.

He tiptoed along the back edge, looked up and saw the Vikings appear to be dejectedly walking off the field and took off.

“We practice that once a week, and we finally got to use it,” Cromartie said. “The blocking was great. They made a wall for me just like last week.”

The record gallop was Cromartie's third return touchdown in two weeks.

Against Houston, he picked up an errant snap on a punt in the end zone and returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.

Castillo out?

Coach Norv Turner said the ankle injury to defensive end Luis Castillo “is a big one,” but that the extent won't be known until further tests are done today.

Turner said Castillo strained his knee and sprained his ankle.

“It looks like one that will keep him out a while,” Turner said.

Chargers spokesman Bill Johnston listed Castillo with an ankle injury. When asked about the knee, Johnston said athletic trainer James Collins “said the knee may be sore, but it's just the ankle.”

Maybe it was just coincidence, but the Vikings had 18 carries for 73 yards while Castillo was in the game and 25 carries for 305 yards after he left following the second play of the third quarter.

The Chargers also lost cornerback Quentin Jammer in the third quarter when he aggravated his injured hamstring defending a long incompletion.

Linebacker Shaun Phillips did not play and said this about why: “Coaches and trainers make those decisions.” His groin is expected to be sufficiently healed in time for Sunday's game against Indianapolis.

Naanee does it

Legedu Naanee chipped the defensive end, then ran a short route and caught his first NFL pass. He put together a nice run after the catch for a 22-yard gain.

The rookie's next catch, a 17-yarder, was much more impressive, as he received and held onto a ball from Philip Rivers over the middle knowing he was seconds from being leveled by linebacker E.J. Henderson.

“Luckily, he threw the ball where I didn't have to extend, and I could protect myself and get my pads down before the linebacker came,” Naanee said. “That's the way you've got to do it there – sacrifice.”

Antonio who?

Antonio Gates was the intended receiver on almost one third of Rivers' passes going into the game.

But when Gates caught his first pass with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, it was just the second time Rivers had thrown his way all day.

Gates would be the target four more times – three incompletions and an interception.

“They did a variety of things,” Gates said.

The Vikings had different players disrupt Gates throughout the day, but mostly the difficulty in getting him the ball was just a part of the difficulty the offense had. The Vikings blitzed almost constantly, disguised well and kept changing in and out of different defenses.

“They had us off-balance the whole game,” Gates said.

LT's TD

LaDainian Tomlinson did not have an outstanding day, but his one touchdown was noteworthy for several reasons.

The 1-yard run was the 105th rushing touchdown of Tomlinson's career, moving him out of a tie with Jim Brown and into fourth place on the all-time list.

It was also Tomlinson's first touchdown away from Qualcomm Stadium this season and just the third rushing touchdown allowed by the Vikings in 2007.

Witness to history

Chester Taylor, Peterson's backup, who ran nine times for 60 yards and a touchdown yesterday, was the backup to Jamal Lewis on the Baltimore Ravens when Lewis ran for 295 yards in a game, a NFL record until yesterday.

“It's fortunate that I played with two great running backs,” Taylor said. “It's great to watch.”

Nuts 'n' Bolts

Kassim Osgood caught his first pass since Nov. 20, 2005, a span of 25 games. He actually caught two fourth-quarter passes for 23 yards.

Mike Scifres continued his resurgence, booming eight punts for a net average of 45 yards. Five of the punts were downed inside the 20. After having just three of his first 23 punts downed inside the 20, Scifres has had 14 of 17 downed there over the past three games.

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Kevin Acee: (619) 293-1857; kevin.acee@uniontrib.com