At this point last season, the Chargers were on their way to trying to make the postseason by winning the final four games of the season. This year, however, it is not as likely they will end up in the same place. They have a better record at 8-6 than they did last season, but they also have a harder schedule.
The first of the hard games was the one the Chargers lost against the New England Patriots, and the second was the game yesterday against the Denver Broncos. Philip Rivers and the offensive line had trouble getting going and even though Rivers was finally able to find the end zone to connect with Antonio Gates for their 70th touchdown, in the end it just wouldn't be enough for the Chargers.
The defensive line of San Diego did stand up big against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos at times though, forcing Connor Barth to kick a total of 5 field goals. Peyton also left the game in the second quarter to go to the locker room and get an IV for flu-like symptoms and have his injured thigh looked at, which meant that the Broncos had to call on Brock Osweiler but Peyton would not stay out for long. He came back in the third quarter and on the second Broncos drive of the third quarter, he would connect to Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 16-3 lead.
Now that the Chargers have lost two straight, they are one of three teams with 8-6 records currently, who sit behind the two teams at 9-5 that hold the Wild Card spots. Can they still win out and get to the postseason? The answer is not without some help. The Chargers needed to win yesterday to even be able to come close to making the playoffs. Now, it looks like the Chargers are going to fall short and try again next season to do better.