San Diego – If the season ended today – not a bad idea if you think about it – the Broncos wouldn’t be in the playoffs.
They took a 7-5 record into today’s game against the Chargers, leaving them on the outside looking in at the postseason. And things only got worse as the day progressed. A lot worse.
The Chargers, an increasingly popular pick as the best team in the NFL, sure looked the part against the Broncos. They jumped ahead 14-0 in the first quarter and added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, then withstood a third-quarter surge to win 48-20 at Qualcomm Stadium.
How significant was the win? For one thing, it enabled San Diego to clinch the AFC West title. Not only that, but it also gave the Chargers an 11-2 record. With Indianapolis having lost at Jacksonville today, San Diego as we speak has the inside track at home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
And what do the Broncos have going for them at this point? Um, did we mention the weather in San Diego was warm and sunny?
It seems like ancient times, but Denver led the division on the morning of Oct. 29. The Broncos lost to Indianapolis that day to fall into a tie with the Chargers. And now, six weeks later, they barely have a playoff pulse.
Forget running the table in their final three games. At the moment, the Broncos just need to win a game. Sunday’s debacle left them with their first four-game losing streak in the 21st century. The only other time they’ve lost four straight under Mike Shanahan was in 1999, one year after their back-to-back Super Bowl seasons.
The Chargers jumped in front on Philip Rivers’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates. The two hooked up again with 23 seconds remaining in the first half, this time from seven yards out, to give San Diego a 28-3 halftime lead.
Rookie quarterback Jay Cutler struggled early in his first NFL road start, completing four out of 11 first-half passes. The Broncos offense accounted for three points and 131 yards in the half, 51 coming on a run by Tatum Bell.
Bell appeared to score from 75 yards out, but stepped out of bounds on the Chargers’ 24-yard line. Such is life for the Broncos in the playoff stretch.
Then you have the Chargers, the hottest team in the blocking-and-tackling business. How hot are they? Rivers completed 11 out of 13 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, giving him a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
Cutler rebounded in the second half, completing 10 out of 12 for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter, but it proved to be too late to snap the Broncos’ losing streak.
