Chargers' knockout punch
SAN DIEGO – In the cinematic sense of things, it was one of those insignificant moments that would have hit the cutting room floor. But when the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos settled up Sunday, the scene ended up impacting everything.
In fact, it changed a game, a division race and the playoff picture.
Unbeknownst to anyone, all three were still in the balance when Chargers safety Jerry Wilson pulled aside San Diego's cornerbacks in the third quarter and barked some instructions. With the Chargers nursing a 20-7 lead, Wilson figured Denver was going to keep attacking defensive backs Drayton Florence and Quentin Jammer. So he made a quick plea.
"All you have to do is just get a hand in there," Wilson said. "Anything close, just pop [the ball] up in the air. It doesn't even have to be high."
One quarter later, with San Diego's lead frittered to 20-17 and Denver sitting at the Chargers' 7-yard line, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer lobbed a pass into the left corner of the end zone. As receiver Rod Smith reached up for what appeared to be an over-the-shoulder touchdown catch, Drayton Florence threw an upper cut. The ensuing popup wobbled toward the back of the end zone, where Jerry Wilson was waiting.
"This," Wilson thought, "is what I've been waiting for."
The interception essentially locked up San Diego's 20-17 win at Qualcomm Stadium, giving the Chargers a decisive two-game lead (plus the tiebreaker over Denver) in the AFC West. In the larger sense, it solidified San Diego in the conference's upper ranks, allowing it to – at the very least – be mentioned in the same breath as other NFL elites like Pittsburgh, New England, Indianapolis and Philadelphia.
Despite playing largely one-dimensional football, the Chargers did something only the best teams do: manufactured a win in spite of momentary imperfection.
"They've developed a dynamic amongst themselves that has shown their resiliency," said head coach Marty Schottenheimer, "and (shown) their ability to hang in there sometimes when things don't go exactly the way you'd like to see them go. … We responded far better to adversity than we had in the past."
The Chargers absolutely had to have this game. In the middle of November, they entered a bye week sitting at 6-3 but were still burdened by doubts. Was the defense legitimate? Did quarterback Drew Brees always have to play perfectly? Were the Chargers destined to fall off?
A month later, with two road wins over Oakland and Kansas City and Sunday's victory over the Broncos, the Chargers provided all the right answers. That span saw the defense soar at times and struggle at others. It saw Brees go through a day of mediocrity and an opponent turn tight end Antonio Gates into a non-factor. Most importantly, it showcased San Diego's ability to win in tight spots, with a six-point win over the Raiders and back-to-back three-point wins the last two weeks.
Sunday's victory – which pushed San Diego to 9-3 and dropped Denver to 7-5 – might have told us more about the Chargers than any game before it. The play of Brees came down from the stratosphere, as he completed 14-of-27 passes for 106 passing yards and one interception. His soon-to-be Pro Bowl tight end, Gates, caught only three passes for 31 yards.
But the Chargers adjusted in the Southern California rain by returning to Schottenheimer's "Marty Ball" for the interim and pounding away with LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. And they kept riding an opportunistic defense, which held Denver to 74 yards rushing and intercepted four Plummer passes – all coming on tipped balls.
It was hardly perfection on either side, but it was enough for the Chargers to beat a Denver team that played with some grit. As Broncos safety John Lynch pointed out, "We created (two) turnovers. We got heat on Drew. We somewhat contained LaDainian."
Yet it still wasn't enough to stop San Diego from successfully capping a team-defining, three-game stretch.
"We knew if we wanted to get where we wanted to go, we were going to have to (win) all three of them," said Tomlinson.
Perhaps nothing has really changed with the Chargers over the three wins. But the graces of the surrounding world certainly have. To understand it, you had to be in the Chargers' locker room two days before their win over Denver. Standing beneath a plasma screen TV, rookie defensive back Robb Butler listened to an analyst sermonize about San Diego being the league's sudden delight.
"Yeah, that's right, jump on the bandwagon!" Butler said, waving a towel at the screen. "It's filling up. Hurry, everybody onto the bandwagon before it gets too full!"
Butler turned and walked away, bursting into laughter. With the Chargers rolling toward their first playoff berth since 1995, the ride is just beginning.
