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Raise your hand if you looked at the 4-6 San Diego Chargers after their Week 11 loss at Miami and said, "Yep, that's a playoff-bound club.'' Anyone? But then the Bolts went into Kansas City and stunned the 9-1 Chiefs, and wound up winning at Denver in Week 15. All told, San Diego won five out of its last six games, scratching its way to 9-7 and the winning lottery ticket for that highly-contested AFC six seed.
How sweet it must have felt for Philip Rivers and his veteran Chargers teammates to come back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to nip the No. 5-seeded Chiefs 27-24 in overtime at Qualcomm Stadium. After all those bitter collapses and blown leads and playoff losses in the team's Norv Turner coaching era, the Chargers are the Cinderella team in this year's postseason. Is there anything better in the NFL than the playoff berth that no one saw coming? From 5-7 over the course of three months, to 4-0 down the stretch when it really matters?
The Chargers needed the Ravens to falter in the past two weeks, and they did. They needed the Dolphins to sputter and die against the likes of the third- and fourth-place teams in the AFC East, and they obliged. They needed help, and they needed to keep winning. They got it, and they did their part, winning division games against Kansas City, Denver, Oakland and the Chiefs again in the final six weeks of the season.
Expect plenty of folks to jump on the Chargers' bandwagon and pick them to beat the Bengals next week in Cincinnati. That San Diego offense can move the ball, and the Chargers fit the "hot team'' label to a tee. Luck was certainly on their side on Sunday against the Chiefs. Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop will never have to buy another beer in San Diego if he so desires. It was Succop's uncharacteristic miss of a 41-yard, game-winning field-goal attempt near the end of regulation that breathed new life back in the Chargers' magic carpet ride.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...#ixzz2ovPOgr00
How sweet it must have felt for Philip Rivers and his veteran Chargers teammates to come back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to nip the No. 5-seeded Chiefs 27-24 in overtime at Qualcomm Stadium. After all those bitter collapses and blown leads and playoff losses in the team's Norv Turner coaching era, the Chargers are the Cinderella team in this year's postseason. Is there anything better in the NFL than the playoff berth that no one saw coming? From 5-7 over the course of three months, to 4-0 down the stretch when it really matters?
The Chargers needed the Ravens to falter in the past two weeks, and they did. They needed the Dolphins to sputter and die against the likes of the third- and fourth-place teams in the AFC East, and they obliged. They needed help, and they needed to keep winning. They got it, and they did their part, winning division games against Kansas City, Denver, Oakland and the Chiefs again in the final six weeks of the season.
Expect plenty of folks to jump on the Chargers' bandwagon and pick them to beat the Bengals next week in Cincinnati. That San Diego offense can move the ball, and the Chargers fit the "hot team'' label to a tee. Luck was certainly on their side on Sunday against the Chiefs. Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop will never have to buy another beer in San Diego if he so desires. It was Succop's uncharacteristic miss of a 41-yard, game-winning field-goal attempt near the end of regulation that breathed new life back in the Chargers' magic carpet ride.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl...#ixzz2ovPOgr00
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