San Diego Chargers and Philip Rivers Are Ready To Run the Wild, Wild AFC West

The Chargers started the season slow, appearing dead set to miss the playoffs.
Fumbling woes, special teams miscues and injuries created a gaping hole in the Chargers’ once-dominant ship among the rowboats of the AFC West division.
The Chargers special teams cost them two of their first five games of the season, dropping them to 2-3.
Leon Washington ran back two kick returns for Steelers 10 Santonio Holmes jersey
touchdowns, a Seahawks franchise record, to give Seattle the 27-20 home win.
The Chargers then lost on the road two weeks later to the Raiders, who blocked one punt for a safety and another for a touchdown in the first quarter alone. Rivers fumbled late in the fourth quarter, allowing Oakland to recover for a touchdown.
With two home wins and three road losses, it was evident the Chargers were not just mediocre at home, but unable to win on the road.
The Chargers headed into their Week 10 bye 4-5 and .500 in their last four games. They won two tough games against the Titans and Texans leading up to the bye, though. That gave them a lot of momentum, as they were back in the running for the AFC West division crown.
Although they carried the momentum of a two-game win streak into the bye, the Chargers were decimated by injuries. Starting wide receivers Legedu Naanee and Malcom Floyd were out with hamstring injuries. Rookie running back Ryan Mathews has battled head and ankle injuries this season. Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates was forced to sit for the first time in four seasons with a foot injury. Vincent Jackson was still ineligible to play.
Luckily for the Chargers, Philip Rivers has been in rare, MVP caliber form. Rivers has been almost unstoppable this season. Rivers won two games against tough AFC South opponents with backups Mike Tolbert, Randy McMichael and Seyi Ajirotutu.
The Chargers finally got back to .500 following the bye week.
With the extra time to prepare, San Diego destroyed Josh McDaniels’ Broncos 35-14 on Monday Night football. Rivers tossed four touchdown passes in the game. Malcom Floyd returned from injury to catch a touchdown pass. Unfortunately, Patrick Crayton injured his wrist, requiring surgery.
Despite the ongoing injuries, the Chargers were back at .500 and on pace to make a run at the division title. Perhaps just as important, they were getting back their “star” wide receiver, Vincent Jackson, for the Week 12 Sunday Night showdown against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts, who had just lost to their rivals New England on the road, were at home and irate. This appeared to spell another loss for the Chargers.
Instead, the three-point underdogs went into Indianapolis and once again dominated the Colts. The Chargers brought reinforcements, with Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson.
In the first quarter of his 2010 debut, Vincent Jackson injured his calf and was done for the night. Thanks for playing, V-Jax.
The Chargers defense held down the fort while Philip Rivers failed to throw a touchdown pass or for 200 yards in the contest. Still, Rivers only threw four incomplete passes, and the Chargers refused to turn the ball over. Instead, the San Diego defense created five turnovers of Vikings Brett Favre jersey
their own. Colts fourth-string running back Javarris James fumbled the ball, and Donald Brown rushed 11 times for 24 yards.
Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes in the first half, which sounds good on paper, but he also threw two touchdown passes to Chargers defenders. In the first quarter, Kevin Burnett picked off Manning and ran it back 29 yards for a touchdown. The Chargers went up 10-7 and never looked back.
In the second half, Eric Weddle picked off Manning and ran it back for a 41-yard touchdown. In all, Manning threw four interceptions in the game and has tossed seven in the past two games. The Chargers have the Colts’ number, and it seems no matter who is on the field for San Diego, they’re going to come out on top.
The Chargers are finally getting healthy and are now on a four-game win streak. With two division matchups coming up against Oakland and Kansas City at home as part of a three-week home stand, the Chargers are in prime position to take control of this wild AFC West race.
The Chargers always seem to start slow and finish strong, and this year appears to be no different. The defense is clicking, creating pressure and turnovers. The running game with Mike Tolbert is solid, playing off the impeccable passing of Philip Rivers. If Rivers can carry his oft-injured team into the playoffs, he may very well be the MVP of the league. He currently has thrown for 3,362 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Kansas City Chiefs still stand in the Chargers' way of repeating as AFC West division winners. The Chiefs have been hot as of late, especially Dwayne Bowe, who has turned into an unstoppable superstar overnight, with 14 touchdown receptions this season.
The young Chiefs team boasts one of the best coaching staffs in the league, with head coach Todd Haley, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. The Chiefs are a resilient team and should beat the Broncos at home to avenge their embarrassing loss two weeks ago.
With both Kansas City and San Diego 4 Brett Favre White jersey
expected to win Week 13, their Week 14 matchup becomes one of the most important games of the season.
Amidst the turmoil in the beginning of the season, Philip Rivers has carried this team on his shoulders. He has his team in legit position to end the season on a nine-game win streak to finish with an 11-5 record and another AFC West division crown.