On Thanksgiving Day, the Broncos were just as good as the San Diego Chargers.
Both teams were 5-5, tied for the division lead. Both had six games remaining.
By Christmas Day, the sands of the AFC West had shifted decidedly.
The Chargers won their next five games, including a 23-3 whipping of the Broncos on Monday night. The Chargers are 10-5 and will host a first-round playoff game Jan. 5 or Jan. 6.
“At the point when we were 5-5, we could have went either way,” said LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers’ star running back.
It was the Broncos who went the other way, losing four of their next five. They are 6-9, tied for the ninth-worst record in the NFL.
“It’s a little disappointing right now,” Broncos rookie running back Selvin Young said. “We’re not getting things rolling, we’re not getting things together. The one thing I do see, though, is we’ve got guys fighting. We’ve got guys trying to get to where we should be going.”
How did the Broncos get so separated from the Chargers in such a short time?
Every season has a turning point. For the Broncos, it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. More specifically, it was the fourth quarter of their game Nov. 25 at Chicago.
“That was a pretty tough loss to swallow,” Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler said.
Despite the Broncos’ initial denials, the Chicago Collapse was so devastating it spiraled into a ruined season. Even after Devin Hester, the Bears’ remarkable returner, had brought back a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, the Broncos were ahead 34-20 with seven minutes remaining.
Then came an illegal formation penalty that wiped out a fine punt by Todd Sauerbrun. On the do-over, Sauerbrun tried to directional kick his punt away from Hester. He directed it right into a block by Charles Tillman. A couple plays later, the Bears had a gimme touchdown.
The Bears went on to win 37-34 in overtime.
Two weeks later, the Chargers were trailing Tennessee 17-3 with a little more than seven minutes remaining. The Chargers rallied to win 23-17 in overtime.
Maybe it was the breaks that turned the season for each team. Or maybe good teams such as the Chargers find a way to win games they shouldn’t, while bad teams such as the Broncos find a way to lose games they shouldn’t.
“We could have folded and just said, ‘It’s not going the way we want it to go. It’s not our year,’ ” Tomlinson said. “But we didn’t. We kept playing and that’s how good teams get it done.”
San Diego is going to the playoffs. The Broncos will stay home for the new year. Are the holidays over yet?
“We’ve got a rivalry,” Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler said. “Obviously we’ve got to win games to make it a rivalry, though.”
The Broncos have lost four in a row to San Diego. While a San Diego win or Pittsburgh loss in the regular-season finale Sunday would give the Chargers the AFC’s No. 3 playoff seed, a Denver defeat and San Francisco victory that day would give the Broncos a tiebreaker’s chance at the No. 8 pick in the 2008 draft.
It would be the first time since 1991 the Broncos were bad enough to qualify for a top 10 draft pick.
CHALK TALK: Shaken, rattled and fumbled away
The Chargers’ 23-3 victory Monday night in San Diego might have been different had the Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening possession instead of fumbling away the opportunity. A fine opening-game kickoff return by Glenn Martinez gave Denver the ball near midfield. A 20-yard pass from Jay Cutler to Tony Scheffler gave the Broncos a first down at the Chargers’ 21-yard line. Two plays later, it was third-and-7 at the 18. Broncos reporter Mike Klis takes a closer look.
The play: Feeling pressure, Cutler took off up the middle, but didn’t tuck in the ball. As Cutler was getting hit by Chargers defensive lineman Luis Castillo, Igor Olshansky swiped his left paw smack on the ball, popping it loose. Shawn Merriman fell on it.
Point/counterpoint: This is what they call a coverage sack. From the shotgun, Cutler had time but his two receivers, Brandon Marshall and Javon Walker, were well-covered all night until garbage time. In the first half, Walker had no catches and Marshall had one — a quick receiver screen for 5 yards.
Future prospects: The return of Castillo and Merriman from injuries fueled the Chargers’ defense, which in turn overwhelmed the Broncos. Cutler is known for his uncommon poise for a young quarterback, but this was one game where he got rattled. Then again, the combination of a hostile crowd, covered receivers and a continuously collapsing pocket will bring any quarterback to wit’s end.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
