San Diego Chargers may be NFL’s biggest surprise
The hottest NFL team hardly anyone has noticed is the San Diego Chargers.
Since a 2-3 start, the Chargers are 6-0 and have outscored opponents 188-83 — and they’re about to enter their favorite month.
San Diego was 13-11 in its first eight games the past three seasons (2006 through 2008). The Chargers were 14-0 (by a combined 449-221 victory margin) in the past three Decembers.
They’ll kick off December 2009 at Cleveland Sunday. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn should be in for a long afternoon.
The big problem for the Chargers the past three seasons is December ended. They weren’t bad in January (3-3 record), but they weren’t the best.
In the 2007 playoffs, San Diego lost 24-21 at home to New England. In 2008, the Chargers beat visiting Tennessee and upset the host Indianapolis Colts only to lose 21-12 at New England in the AFC Championship. Last season, they again beat Indianapolis, 23-17 at home in overtime, before losing 35-24 at Pittsburgh in the Divisional Playoffs.
Injuries contributed to San Diego’s recent playoff disappointments, but the Chargers are relatively healthy now. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) and Tom Brady (New England) get far more attention than San Diego’s Philip Rivers, but are they that much better?
The Chargers merit respect alongside the Colts and Patriots as the major AFC threats to go all the way.
Just when the Buffalo Bills are becoming fun to watch again, they’ll be playing Thursday night’s prime-time “home” game against the New York Jets in Toronto. … The Bills outscored Miami 24-0 in the fourth quarter Sunday after being outscored 109-40 in the fourth quarter in their first 10 games. … Is it a coincidence that Terrell Owens has 14 catches for 293 yards in two games since coach Dick Jauron was fired? Owens needs 9 catches to become the sixth NFL player with 1,000 catches and it now looks like he’ll reach the milestone as a Buffalo Bill. My hunch for his 2010 team: Giants or Jets.
The Tennessee Titans are 5-0 since a 0-6 start and trying to top the 1992 Chargers for the worst start to make the playoffs (0-4 to 11-5). Vince Young rallied the Titans to a 20-17 home win Sunday over Arizona, throwing for 387 yards (not bad for a guy some insist can’t pass) and connecting on a 10-yard TD pass with no time left. Young has won his last 9 starts (5-0 this season) and is 23-11 as a starting QB in the NFL. Tennessee’s 5 remaining games: at Indianapolis, ST. LOUIS, MIAMI, SAN DIEGO, at Seattle. … Chris Johnson (Tennessee) joined Earl Campbell (1980) and Eric Dickerson (1984) as the only running backs to rush for at least 125 yards in 6 straight games. Johnson has 1,396 yards rushing and is averaging 127 yards rushing per game this season. He needs to average 142 yards rushing in Tennessee’s remaining 5 games to top Dickerson’s NFL single-season record of 2,105 yards rushing in 1984.
Maybe Minnesota’s Brett Favre really isn’t better at age 40 than he’s ever been. Maybe he’s simply on by far the best team he’s ever played for. He threw for 392 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday’s 36-10 home romp over Chicago. He has a remarkable TD-to-INT ratio of 24/3. … The Atlanta Falcons have a chance to have consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. Sunday’s 20-17 home win over Tampa Bay boosted their record to 6-5. … Cincinnati finished 6-0 vs. the AFC North for the first time in team history. The Bengals have held their last seven opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. … Indianapolis can tie New England’s NFL-record 21 consecutive regular-season wins with a home victory Sunday over Tennessee.
The election will be Feb. 6, the day before Super Bowl XLIV.
