NFL: Preseason-Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers
Aug 13, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; A helmet from a San Diego Chargers player in a preseason NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers won 17-7. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Home » Blog » Chargers, Broncos square off in AFC showdown

Chargers, Broncos square off in AFC showdown

Matt Verderame News NFL

The Los Angeles Chargers looked dead and buried after starting 0-4. In fact, the last time a team was able to overcome a start like that and reach the playoffs were in 1992, when the Chargers somehow won the AFC West and beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round.

This year’s team still has plenty of work ahead, but wins over the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders have the fanbase dreaming of what could be, 25 years after the last miracle. This weekend, the Chargers welcome in the Denver Broncos, a team fresh off a humbling 23-10 home loss to the Giants at Mile High.

Denver comes into the game at 3-2, and a loss to Los Angeles would drop it to only half-game ahead of the Chargers. With the Raiders already behind Los Angeles by way of head-to-head tiebreaker (and Oakland draws the 5-1 Chiefs on Thursday night), the Chargers have a huge opportunity to climb bak into the playoff race in the AFC.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are trying to stay in the Western race with the Chiefs, who have the league’s best record at 5-1. Kansas City finally lost a game last week, falling 19-13 to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium. Regardless, the Chiefs remained 1.5 games ahead of Denver, with the two scheduled for a Monday Night Football contest in Week 8. Should Kansas City pull any further ahead with a cupcake schedule down the stretch, the Broncos are in real trouble.

With the Broncos and Chargers fighting for a postseason spot, this game could be a tipping point on both sides. Denver, with a win, would move to 4-2 and get 2.5 games ahead of the Chargers, while gaining on either Kansas City or Oakland. The Chargers would stay ahead of the Raiders regardless of their outcome on Thursday, and move to within a half-game of Denver, and perhaps two games of the Chiefs. A loss would all but bury them for good, especially with it being their third divisional loss.

With the way the AFC is shaping up, there’s a good chance that one or even two of the wild card slots will go to teams with nine wins. If the Chargers pull this one out, there are other victories to be had on that schedule, including dates with the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and Raiders.

Denver could get its fourth win and continue to keep close tabs on Kansas City while taking the initiative in the wild card race, especially with hard games coming up against the Philadelphia Eagles, Chiefs and New England Patriots.

On Sunday, one team gets a huge win, while the other takes a crushing defeat.

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