The Broncos certainly know what they’re getting Sunday — the AFC West team that has best harnessed momentum in recent seasons.
They are getting a team, the Chargers, that has become most adept at catching a late-season wave and seeing how far it will take it.
Or, as Broncos outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil said Wednesday: “History says they kind of finish strong down the stretch.”
That they do.
In 2008, the Chargers won the last four games of the regular season, including the season finale against the Broncos, to go from miserable (4-8) to division champions.
In 2007, the Chargers won their last six games, including a Christmas Eve game against the Broncos, to become, yes, division champions.
In 2006, the Chargers won their final 10 regular-season games to run away with the division title at 14-2.
So while the Broncos have some of their own football demons to battle at this point, like ill-timed penalties, missed tackles and some shaky gap control in run defense, the Chargers’ late-season flourishes have to be on the list as well.
Because in the current state of affairs in the AFC West, it’s the Chargers that have what everybody else wants. And they’ve had it for the last three years, and a win at Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday will give them the inside track to their fourth straight division title.
Some teams go easier in training camp because they want to have something left during the final month of the season.
Some go harder because they want to be well-conditioned and tough-minded for the stretch drive. The Broncos chose this route in Josh McDaniels’ first season. They are in the portion of the schedule when that will, or won’t, give them the results they had hoped for when they ran all of those gassers.
But one thing is clear: Since the Broncos finished 13-3 in the 2005 season, they have not navigated the stretch drive very well. They have not lived the cliché that you want to play your best football late in the year.
They lost five of their last seven in 2006, lost four of the last six in 2007 and lost four of the last six last year, including the last three games of the season.
The team that gained the most from each of those troubled finishes is back for another visit Sunday, poised to once again take home what the Broncos want to keep for themselves.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
