So you think your "beat Atlanta and New York on the road but lose at home to Oakland and Buffalo" Broncos have your worry beads - and stomachs - tied up in

irrevocable knots? Welcome to San Diego, where the local Football team and its fans are viewing Sunday night's pivotal AFC West contest with a little more urgency than the area's usual mellow vibe.

Should Denver win, making the playoffs might be considered a monumental achievement, given the expectations entering the season and the series of injuries that has afflicted the team's running game all year. But the Chargers are fighting for their postseason lives in a year in which many saw them going as far as they did in 2007 - the conference championship game - and beyond.

That would still be possible with a win at Qualcomm Stadium this weekend, but it wouldn't be likely. The Chargers team that entered 2008 with a roster featuring double-digit all-pros and sturdy locker-room leadership and supposedly minus the coaching/front office drama ever-present the previous season could be just the ninth 8-8 team to make the playoffs since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule 30 years ago. But not many would give the Chargers a chance against the Indianapolis Colts in the opening round, even playing at home.

"You're always what your record is," San Diego coach Norv Turner said. "We played real well last week. We played well against the Raiders (in a 34-7 win Dec. 4). We've been down to the wire against a number of good Football teams. We just didn't finish some games and take advantage of some opportunities."

That has been the dichotomy of the Chargers. Of course, there are some who blame the Week 2 loss to the Broncos on referee Ed Hochuli, but would a true Super Bowl contender have given up both the touchdown and game-winning two-point conversion after the official's mistake?

Similarly, a week after losing in Miami - which, given the surprising Dolphins' turnaround may not have been that bad - San Diego returned home and dominated the New England Patriots 30-10. But in the following two weeks the Chargers lost at Buffalo and to New Orleans in London and back home after a bye were lucky to eke out a 20-19 win against Kansas City.

That was followed by a three-

game losing streak that put the Chargers' record at 4-8. A three-game winning streak, twice rallying from second-half deficits, set up this weekend's showdown against Denver.

There are some who blame San Diego's inconsistencies on Turner. Looking at his career 75-95-1 mark in 11 seasons with Washington, Oakland and the Chargers, they say he's a swell guy and a great offensive coordinator (who won two Super Bowls in that position with Dallas), but isn't dynamic enough, or is too nice to get his team over the top.

Before Turner, the Chargers were led by a drill sergeant, Marty Schottenheimer, who lost a power struggle with general manager A.J. Smith.

"Both of them are very intelligent men," wide receiver Vincent Jackson said. "I've been fortunate to have both of them as my coach. I don't know where all the talk about Norv comes from. We run a tight ship around here, and we don't have the problems that you hear about from all around the league."

For his part, Turner says there isn't any measure of satisfaction from being one victory away from where the Chargers were supposed to be all along - in the playoffs.

"When you're in the middle of the season, I don't know that it matters either way," he said of dealing with the criticism. "We have to come in on Monday and get ready for the next game, no matter what happened on Sunday.

"When the year is over, you look back on some of those things and evaluate or have feelings about them. But right now, any time I spend thinking about that certainly doesn't help us get ready for Denver."

But while it seems the Chargers are carrying all the momentum into Sunday's game, remember that Denver isn't the only team playing that's spent the first 16 weeks of the season pretty much doing the opposite of what it was supposed to.

"Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together is what we've been striving to do all year," tight end Antonio Gates said. "I truly believe that if we go out and play San Diego Chargers Football, there aren't too many teams out there that can play with us.

"We've seen glimpses of it, but it's been frustrating. People out there are looking for answers and that's similar to how we feel. We play the Patriots and look like the team everyone expected us to be. But we play the Falcons (a 22-16 home loss on Nov. 30) and we don't. It's been like a seesaw going up and down."

Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com

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Too close for comfort

As befitting a team hovering around .500, the San Diego Chargers have spent the entire season weaving in and out of trouble. Here's a look at some of the team's close shaves:

Week ....Opponent ....Turning point ....Result

1 ....Carolina ....Dante Rosario catches 14-yard touchdown pass on final play of game. ....L, 26-24

2 ....Denver ....Eddie Royal catches 4-yard pass, adds two-point conversion with 24 seconds left. ....L, 39-38

10 ....Kansas City ....Chargers stop two-point conversion with 23 seconds to play. ....W, 20-19

11 ....Pittsburgh ....Jeff Reed kicks 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left. ....L, 11-10

12 ....Indianapolis ....Adam Vinatieri kicks 51-yard field goal on final play of game. ....L, 23-20

15 ....Kansas City ....Chargers score 19 points in final 8:29 of game. ....W, 22-21