The Chargers are no different.

They hoped Sunday's season finale against the Denver Broncos would mean more than playing four quarters and jetting off to an offseason vacation.

But first they had to erase two games off the Broncos' three-game lead in the AFC West standings.

The Chargers have done that thanks to a three-game winning streak and the Broncos getting a lump in their throat. The result is Sunday night's game could hardly mean more.

If the Chargers prevail at Qualcomm Stadium, they, and not the Broncos, will open the playoffs against the visiting Colts the following weekend.

Hey, December dreams really do come true.

"I give a lot of credit to our guys," coach Norv Turner said. "They have hung in there and they have stayed in there.

"We had a tough loss a month ago against Atlanta and had to turn right around and play an Oakland team that was playing extremely well. They rebounded and playing that game the way we did I think got us to a point we said, 'Hey, we can't control what happens outside of this building but we certainly can control what happens over the next month.'

"We found a way to win in Kansas City and played maybe our best game against Tampa, against a real good team that hadn't lost down there and had played awfully good defense at home.

"Now we have a real challenge. Denver is one of the best offenses in the league. They've got guys that have 100 catches, 90 catches. The quarterback has thrown for over 4,000 yards. They've got a lot of playmakers on defense. It's a real challenge for us."

The stiff test was surviving a midseason, which saw an unexpected collapse. The Chargers lost five of six games -- in a variety of wacky ways -- to all but fall out of the playoff hunt.

But they didn't buckle and can another AFC West title with a win that would get them only to eight, but mean so much more.

Wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who is fresh off reaching 1,000 yards in the season, said the makeup in the locker room was among the reasons the Chargers were able to make up their deficit.

"That has a lot to do with just our coaches and our staff upstairs keeping the guys together for a lot of years," he said. "We don't have a lot of trades. We bring free agents in every once in a while, but we just draft rookies. We keep a lot of the same family in and we have guys here for a lot of years.

"We grow together. We bleed, sweat, workout together all year, so just being around each other, we keep that confidence inside despite what's going on outside of us. We're going to stick together. We've got each other's back. That kind of stuff, it shows its colors late in the season."

It's late, and the stuff didn't hit the fan when things went haywire at Chargers Park. Instead, they stayed together only to watch the Broncos fall a bout.

The Broncos would be only the second team to miss the playoffs -- if they lose Sunday -- after owning a three-game advantage.

The Chargers could care less -- all they care about is taking care of business one last time in their baffling season.

"It's funny, everyone says that and we knew last March that we were going to end the season in San Diego against Denver," Turner said. "We knew it after that game in Denver. I had a feeling it would have great meaning.

"We traveled a different road than I would have liked to have traveled to have it have great meaning but now it does.

"They know us, we know them. They were explosive in that game (in Week 2, a 39-38 Charger loss). They made big plays. They moved the ball. We know we've got our hands full. We've got to get ready to play the best game we've played this year."

SERIES HISTORY: 98th meeting. The Broncos lead the series, 53-43-1. In a thrilling game in September, the Broncos prevailed by one point on a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute. The game was known for referee Ed Hochuli blowing his whistle after a Jay Cutler fumble that was recovered by the Chargers and would have iced the win. Hochuli said he was sorry, but that did little to sooth the Chargers. This will be the 11th time the teams have met in the regular-season finale, with the Chargers holding a 6-4 edge and 5-2 in the games at San Diego.