|
 Now, they head to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday playing for their
season.
The Chargers (4-6) have lost three straight by a combined 18 points,
and their chances of slipping into the playoffs are quickly slipping
away. But if they can somehow knock off the rebounding Chiefs (9-1),
they have four of their final five games at home.
"I don't know if you ever say it's your last chance," Chargers
quarterback Philip Rivers said, "because I think they're still going
to kick off the other five, regardless. But I don't think it's a
year where you can go 4-7 and still win the division.
"We know what we've done," Rivers said. "We've lost some
head-to-head games with other teams that are in the mix. But that's
not really what we're concerned about. If you asked every player in
there about the playoffs, they'd tell you it's not even worth
talking about right now. We've got to find a way to win a division
game. We're 0-2 in the division."
They're also staring up the standings at the Broncos and Chiefs.
Kansas City will be trying to bounce back from a loss in Denver last
Sunday that gave the Broncos the upper hand in the AFC West. But the
Chiefs will also be guarding against looking ahead to next week,
when the Broncos play their return game at Arrowhead Stadium.
"It's one loss," Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said, "and our mindset
right now is we're playing another divisional game. We can't hang
our head on that game. There are more games for us to win and we
just have to focus on the next team."
The Chiefs said all the right things all week, praising the Chargers
and pointing out all the close calls that could have turned San
Diego's record around. After all, they're precisely the kind of
close games Kansas City has made a habit of winning.
"These division games are so big, every single one of them," Chiefs
quarterback Alex Smith said, "and they just get bigger as the season
goes on."
With that in mind, here are five storylines to watch for Sunday:
HOMETOWN HEROES: Smith grew up in Southern California as a fan of the
Chargers, and still remembers watching them lose to the 49ers in the
Super Bowl after the 1994 season. "Grew up watching Stan Humphries
and the Chargers play," he said. "I mean, I remember watching that
very well, pulling for the Chargers at the time." He doesn't pull
for the Chargers anymore, and for good reason: They've beaten Smith
the only two times he's faced them.
[to top of second column] |
NO FUN-DAMENTALS: One of the biggest reasons for
the Chargers' three-game swoon has been their lack of
fundamentals. Chargers coach Mike McCoy said there were 12
missed tackles in last week's loss to Miami, not to mention the
blown coverages and costly penalties. "When I think of every
game we lost this season, we made errors and we weren't good
enough to overcome them," Chargers tight end Antonio Gates said.
"It's just too tough to overcome them."
SACK ATTACK: The Chiefs were on pace to shatter the NFL record
for sacks in a season with 35 through their first seven games.
They have one in their last three. Teams have dealt with the
pass rush by chipping linebackers, using maximum protection and
simply having quarterbacks deliver the ball quicker. "When you
have success, people find a way to slow that success down," Hali
said. "But we as rushers have to do a better job of trying to
get there."
CLOSING TIME: Kansas City has been among the best in the NFL at
closing games in the fourth quarter. San Diego has had a much
more difficult time, routinely failing to come through despite
being within one possession in the fourth quarter the last three
weeks. "I don't know if it's just late in games," McCoy said.
"You look back early in games at the opportunities you missed,
and you see you have to be consistent throughout the game."
SAFELY CONSERVATIVE: The Chiefs and Chargers have both erred on
the side of caution, much to the chagrin of their fans. The
Chiefs chose to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the
Denver 1 in their loss last week, while San Diego has made a
habit of punting or kicking field goals when in similar
fourth-down situations. "I think you have to attack," Smith
said, "but it changes week in and week out, depending on how a
defense is playing you."
___
AP NFL website:
http://pro32.ap.org/
and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
[Associated
Press; DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer]
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