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For the fourth straight year (and third in three years under Norv Turner) the Chargers are AFC West champs. This time, they earned the crown with a gutty 27-24 win over the Bengals, combined with a Denver loss to Oakland. From the Q, Craig and Chris break down the win in this postgame podcast:
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ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — Not too many people on this island care one way or another what happens to the Chargers this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nobody’s concerned about the possible blackout, nor whether or not the Bolts will overlook their 3-7 division rivals.
Rivers Will Keep The Chargers Pointed In The Right Direction
What’s the point spread? Who’s injured? Where’s the game? Is there a sports bar somewhere that will illegally carry the telecast? Never mind any of it. Just find yourself some air conditioning so you can deal with the 80-degree temperatures and the opressive humidity.
Meanwhile, the heat is on the Chargers, who need a win Sunday to maintain their lead in the AFC West over the Denver Broncos, who awoke from the dead to crush the New York Giants, 26-6, on Thanksgiving night. While the Bolts were no doubt enjoying turkey dinners with their families, Denver improved to 7-4.
If the Chargers turn in a turkey of a performance against the Chiefs, they’ll be 7-4 as well. But the concern level is far higher than it needs to be.
Sure Kansas City was won two straight, including a 27-24 overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers last Sunday. And the Chiefs all of a sudden look like a formidable foe, the direction of their season changing the moment they rid themselves of troublesome running back Larry Johnson.
But the Chargers’ path to the playoffs has dramatically changed course for the past six weeks now. Leaving a 2-3 start far behind in the rear-view mirror, San Diego has rolled to five-straight wins, including during the run 30-point blowout victories at both Kansas City and Denver.
Though it would be understandable to worry about a letdown, it’s not necessarily realistic. If the Chargers have learned anything this season, it’s that they must show up every single Sunday. Disappointing home losses to Baltimore and Denver, along with two near-losses to the hapless Oakland Raiders have driven that point home.
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