SAN DIEGO — To some San Diego Chargers, there’s a playoff seed to secure and an NFL rushing title to win.
To others, such as defensive players Luis Castillo and Shawne Merriman, they’re simply happy to be playing.
The Chargers maintained the inside track to the AFC’s No. 3 seed and helped spring LaDainian Tomlinson into the league rushing lead with a 23-3 rout of the division rival Broncos on Monday night.
The Chargers also welcomed back Castillo after a six-week absence following ankle surgery, and got Merriman back after he sat out one game with a sprained left knee.
Castillo made an immediate impact, sacking Jay Cutler on Denver’s first drive and forcing a fumble Merriman recovered.
Castillo simply wants the AFC West champion Chargers (10-5) to finish strong, then keep playing that way in January.
“Honestly, at the end of the day, we were the first seed last year and it didn’t matter,” the defensive end said. “We still lost and we still got knocked out. The whole focus this year was just to get to the playoffs. Get to the dance and we can take it from there. That’s the focus right now. Let’s get right. We’re going to play an intense game in Oakland and we’re going to do things the right way.”
If the Chargers win Sunday at Oakland, they will wrap up the No. 3 seed and the right to host the Tennessee Titans or Cleveland Browns in the first round of the playoffs. That would mean missing the Jacksonville Jaguars, who handed San Diego its last loss, 24-17 on Nov. 18. The Chargers have won five straight since then, and nine of 11 dating to their 1-3 start with coach Norv Turner.
Castillo has a good point. The Chargers went an NFL-best 14-2 last season before imploding in a home playoff loss to the New England Patriots. A month later, coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired because of front-office friction.
Then again, Tomlinson has a good point, too.
“I think it’s pretty important to be the third seed and play the last team in,” said Tomlinson, who swooped into the NFL rushing lead with 1,418 yards. “Right now it’ll be Tennessee or Cleveland. We’re familiar with Tennessee, because we played ’em this year. And Cleveland, we’re kind of familiar with because we played them in the past.”
The Chargers rallied to beat Tennessee in overtime in a bruising game Dec. 9. That’s when Merriman and quarterback Philip Rivers sprained their left knees, and fullback Lorenzo Neal broke his right leg. Merriman sat out last week’s blowout of Detroit, but returned against the Broncos.
“It felt real good,” Merriman said. “I didn’t have to be wandering on the sidelines thinking about what I wanted to do.”
Merriman said he doesn’t care who the Chargers meet in the playoffs.
“I’m just happy to be in the playoffs and get a chance to get our foot in the door,” Merriman said.
