SAN DIEGO — After thoroughly whipping up on the New England Patriots on Sunday night, the San Diego Chargers weren’t about to puff out their chests and crow about finally drawing a measure of revenge on a team that had beaten them in the playoffs the past two years, most recently in last season’s AFC championship game.
Rather, a team that has made inconsistency an early-season staple took a deep breath and spoke softly of perhaps turning a corner.
“It wasn’t about satisfaction about beating the Patriots — it was about just getting to .500,” tight end Antonio Gates said after the Chargers’ 30-10 victory. “With Denver losing, it gives us a chance to be in the hunt to still win the AFC West.”
Amid the three turnovers the Broncos suffered in their Sunday loss to Jacksonville, the costliest may have indeed been fumbling away a chance to take control in the division and giving San Diego just one more nail in its effort to rebuild its season.
In some ways, this season is beginning to look very similar to last year’s. The Chargers began 2007 1-3, getting to 3-3 after Week 6. From that point the team went 8-2 to win the West going away, then moved all the way to the conference championship game.
This year, San Diego started 0-2. Now, with wins in three of their past four games, the Chargers are hinting that a similar surge may be in the offing.
“This was the game we’ve been waiting on,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “This is when we’re at our best, when we’re just leaning on each other. The last few weeks, our ‘D’ would get a stop, but we’d go three-and- out. Or the offense would start to get into a rhythm, and the other team would go on a seven- minute drive.
“It was only one game and we’re only 3-3, but maybe it will kick-start us. The NFL is a week-to-week deal, it really is. One week people think a lot of you or not and the next you’re unbelievable. We understand that. Any team can beat anybody. That’s why you have to be ready.”
The Chargers’ upcoming schedule is another reason Sunday’s victory at Qualcomm Stadium was so important. It will be almost a month before San Diego plays at home again. While Denver tries to get back on track in its next game against a Patriots team that will be desperate for a win, the Chargers will be at first-place Buffalo.
After that, San Diego takes on a whole other kind of road trip, traveling to London to face another dangerous team, the New Orleans Saints. While the Chargers get their bye to recover from the arduous overseas excursion, when they return to action, they’ll face AFC West rival Kansas City, then Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Atlanta, one of the year’s surprise teams.
“It’s not like we’re in total control of our own destiny, but it puts us in a position where we can go,” Rivers said. “We can still accomplish everything we want to, whereas losing and going 2-4 would have put us in a big bind.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
