Chargers TE Antonio Gates gets Eric Williams' game ball after catching his 100th career touchdown pass. Jeremy Fowler's game ball goes to Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell after Bell's had the game-winning TD as time expires. (1:25)

SAN DIEGO -- It’s a route they’ve run so often and effectively over the years, San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates could probably complete some passes blindfolded.

Opponents know it’s coming, but like John Stockton and Karl Malone using the pick-and-roll during their glory days for the Utah Jazz, Rivers and Gates always make you pay.

“What they do is really kind of magical,” ESPN analyst and former NFL safety Matt Bowen said. “You’re talking about two older players that know everything, and have seen everything. And they’re going against younger guys that are faster and more explosive on the field. But they still make the plays.”

San Diego’s dynamic duo is tops in NFL history with 73 touchdowns as a pass-catching combination. On Monday night, Gates became the ninth player in NFL history to catch 100 career touchdown passes when he scored on a 12-yard pass from Rivers with 9:06 left in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gates, 35, is now tied with Tim Brown and Steve Largent for seventh all-time in NFL history.

Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates have played together since 2004 and are the most prolific TD pass-catching combination (72) in NFL history. Jeff Gross/Getty Images

While different in personality and demeanor, the two have lockers close together at Chargers Park, and over the past decade they’ve developed an uncanny ability to read each other’s body language on the field.

One of the bread-and-butter plays they’ve used is the pivot route -- an option route in the middle of the field where Gates reads the defender and has the option to break left or right, depending on leverage of the defensive player.

“It really comes down to a lot of repetition -- doing it over and over and over again,” Gates said. “It’s the chemistry of being together for over a decade.”

Suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, Gates returns to the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

A college basketball player at Kent State before he developed into one of the best tight ends to play the game, Gates said his experience on the hardwood using his body to create space as a smaller guy on the block helps him win on routes in the middle of the field.

“To me, that’s the biggest asset that I bring to the table -- learning how to position myself at a young age, and doing it against bigger guys,” Gates said. “It gives me somewhat of an advantage, because it creates a situation where I learned how to attack the ball at its highest point because I was always a shorter guy on the court.”

Like a point guard, Rivers has learned to read where Gates will be on the field, using anticipation to put the ball where only his talented tight end can get it.

Special Connection Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates are the top quarterback-tight end duo, in terms of touchdowns, in NFL history. Tight end Quarterback TDs Antonio Gates Philip Rivers 74 Rob Gronkowski Tom Brady 57 Jimmy Graham Drew Brees 51 Ben Coates Drew Bledsoe 45 Dallas Clark Peyton Manning 44

“It’s such a body language thing,” Rivers said. “I’ve seen his subtle moves at the top of routes that tells me, ‘Oh, he’s about to do this.’ So really, more than anything, it’s something we’ve built over time. And then there are things schematically that we base it off of. So it’s a little bit of both.”

Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich calls Gates “The Professor” because of his expert ability to read a defender’s body language to create separation.

“Antonio does some unorthodox things,” Reich said. “And Philip knows what’s happening.”

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that originators of the option route also hale from San Diego.

The orchestrator of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” NFL offensive guru Mike Martz said the concept of the option route began with former San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell and offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, with quarterback Dan Fouts and tight end Kellen Winslow becoming one of the top quarterback-tight end tandems in the 1970s and '80s.

Those two combined for 41 touchdowns while with the Chargers, and both are in the Hall of Fame.

“When you go back and look at that twosome, that’s all they did was option routes,” Martz said.

Martz said he used the option route during his two decades as an NFL coach. His best option route runner was cat-quick Ricky Proehl.

“Ricky was obscene,” Martz said. “He was unusually gifted.”

Simply the Best The Chargers' Antonio Gates hit 100 TDs for his career, second in NFL history among tight ends. Player Team TDs Tony Gonzalez Atlanta, Kansas City 111 Antonio Gates San Diego 99 Shannon Sharpe Baltimore, Denver 62 Jerry Smith Washington 60 Jason Witten Dallas 59 Rob Gronkowski New England 58

Martz said what makes Rivers and Gates so effective is Rivers’ anticipation and accuracy, and his willingness to take a hit.

“One major thing that makes them so successful is Rivers gets that ball out so fast,” Martz said. “He’s not guessing or waiting to see where the receiver is going to be.

“As soon as he sees his body language and how he’s going to come out of his route, he knows you’re going to come back a certain way. So he can throw that ball before he starts his turn. And when he turns, the ball is right there.”

Gates has made a living getting open in the middle of the field and posting up smaller defenders, such as this 5-yard touchdown against Denver Broncos safety T.J. Ward last year.

But what makes Gates unique is his ability to move outside and still be effective, which he did against one of the best defenses in the NFL in a three-touchdown performance against the Seattle Seahawks last year.

“He beat Kam Chancellor,” Bowen said. “Kam Chancellor is pretty good. He beat those Seattle linebackers, and those guys are pretty athletic. That’s the best defense in the NFL. He didn’t beat them running past people.

“If you look at the tape and how he got open over the top in the red zone, it was all at the line of scrimmage.”

Gates said he’s proud to be part of the continuing legacy of efficient offense within the organization established by the likes of Fouts, Winslow and Charlie Joiner.

“There’s something to be said about playing for the Chargers in this offense,” Gates said. “And we want to keep that going. That’s the way we feel when we speak to these younger guys.

“Make no mistake about it, we want to go out and win. And no matter who we have in there, we have a certain pride, a certain reputation that we’ve built in this league, that when you come to San Diego, you better be ready to play some defense because this offense can light it up.”