We were good enough to take big leads against NO and DEN. Bad enough to blow those leads. Last night we clicked on offense like we should. And the defense is showing how good it will be. Now comes the test.

Our next 5 games are: at TB and DEN, home to BALT and CINCY, and at PITT. I'm hoping we righted the ship with our performance against KC and we end this stretch at 7-6, but I see the chances of 4-9 or 5-8 being more realistic. At that point we would be mathematically out (or close to it). Do we hand the reigns to coach B or Pagano at that point or let Norv finish the year.

I see us as wining 3 of the next 5 heading towards a 9-7 season!

I am not sure who we are but I can say that the locomotive heading in the wrong direction has either been slowed down significantly, or stopped.  

If the Chargers can do it again against the Buccaneers next week, and then get revenge on the Broncos the following week, then we're talking.

Until then, I will definitely ENJOY this win and hope it continues.

I don't want to be too negative right now, but I think we all agree that the next two opponents might be a bit more difficult to beat.  

We might be calling for Norv's head again if we're 4-6 after the Broncos re-match.

....then we'll beat the Ravens....  and everything will be OK again.....  

Norv's head might just depend on whether the Broncos drop a game here or there.  IMO 10 wins in this division will not win the AFC West like it has been possible in the past.  The Broncos have a VERY easy schedule from here onwards, and I think that there's a chance they could even win out the way they are playing, and wind up with a 13-3 season.  The Chargers have  a very big hill to climb.

That said, what if we DO right the ship and win 10 games?  Is that a winning season?  Is that a winning season if the Broncos win the division with 11+ wins, and we miss out on a wild card spot in a tiebreaker scenario?

IMO Tomlinson said something interesting.  How can a team justify keeping a coach that has missed the playoffs three years, when they drop Marty for MAKING the playoffs consistently, but not win a Super Bowl?

I'm rambling now....  I'll stop....

Chargers Regain Form, Sweep Chiefs

The Chargers swept the Kansas City Chiefs and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-13 win on Thursday. Philip Rivers emphatically answered his critics -- save for one inexplicable throw -- and the defense scored twice in a three-minute stretch to vault San Diego back into the playoff race. Read More...

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The AFC West should still come down to the wire, which is what everyone expected coming into the season. San Diego's next game is against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that is losing impact players on a seemingly weekly basis. Denver's next two games are both on the road, at Cincinnati and at Carolina. 

Fun fact: My 2012 Super Bowl prediction in the Fox Sports Season Preview magazine? The Bengals vs. the Panthers. While I'm not feeling great about that prediction now (obviously), it does indicate I like both teams' chances of upsetting Peyton Manning & Co.

We're what all Norv Turner teams become, an 8-8 enigma. Just good enough to fool dumb people into thinking there is upside to keeping Norv for next season, when in reality all we've done is beat 3 bad teams.

Our offense is still sluggish, and our defense is still giving up over 50% of 3rd downs even against Cassel.

I agree with both of the previous 2. At the beginning of the year, I also liked Cincinnati to snag the WC away from Pittsburgh. We have no one to stop BMW or VJ from having big games, Den at Sports Authority field will be tough, BALT is overated (have hope), Andy Dalton should have a good game but, we could be favored at home, PITT will be tough. The final 3 are definately winable:home to CAR, at NYJ, home to OAK. So, although like I said earlier I think we end up with a dissapointing record, I can see a scenerio where if we can win 2 of the next 5 and 3 the winable games to finish the season, we are 9-7. I believe that a 9-7 will make the playoffs from the AFC....why not us.