Chargers are playoff bound again.

San Diego, Ca

The Chargers are hosting the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday night in a first round playoff game, no really, the Chargers made the playoffs. Tickets go on sale Monday for the general public. After what has been one of the more roller coaster like seasons for an NFL franchise, the 8-8 Chargers will fight on again. The bolts lost early games, the bolts lost late games, and the bolts definitely lost games late. Before the seasons opening kickoff aspirations were high, San Diego was even a sexy pick to reach the Super Bowl. Merriman was lost for the season, L.T. got hurt, Teddy Cottrell was fired and so on. Football teams and even referees sucked the wind from their sails. All that aside, coach Norv Turner has led a team filled with character back to it's rightful place atop the division and poised to make a deep push into the postseason. 

In Sunday nights primetime thumping of division rival Denver, the Chargers were firing on all cylinders. San Diego put up half a hundred points and dominated from the start. In fact when the Captains met for the coin toss and the opposing QB's met for the obligatory handshake, it was more of a stare down shared between long time foes. Chargers, Philip Rivers kept his helmet on and looked like he had put his uniform on a week early just for the chance to put a pounding to the Broncos. The energy in the stadium was elevated even before that. San Diego won the toss, elected to receive and scored a field goal on their first trip down the field. Just a warm-up really, as the Chargers then scored touchdowns on 7 of their next nine drives. Punter Mike Scifres was only called upon once on the eve.

Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera brought it again. He mixed up the calls with nice formation mixes and blitz patterns. The Chargers recorded 0 sacks but were able to put pressure on Broncos QB Jay Cutler in the limited playing time the San Diego offense left for him. Chargers held possession for over 36 minutes in the game. Cutler who was selected to the Pro-Bowl this year, Rivers the leagues top rated passer was not, has been called a punk by Chargers players. His attitude on and off the field put him in a place where he really needed to out perform Rivers to maintain credibility. Instead the boy from Santa Claus, Indiana, who looks like the neighborhood bully with his boyish haircut, sideways ball cap, and presumable slingshot in the back pocket was outdone by the team of goofball kids that out schemed him and played together. Every time the cameras panned to Cutler on the sidelines he looked flustered and lost. Phillip Rivers couldn't have looked more the opposite, finishing with 15 of 20 completions for 207 yards and two scores. He finishes the season with 4,009 yards, 34 TD's and a 105.5 passer efficiency rating.