If the San Diego Chargers take care of business Sunday at home against the Denver Broncos, they'll maintain control of their own destiny in the AFC playoff picture.
Lose, and things get complicated from here on out.
San Diego (8-5) holds the final wild-card spot with three games remaining on the schedule, but as many as six teams are knocking on the door (Baltimore, Houston, Miami, Kansas City, Buffalo and Cleveland). The Chargers played the Broncos once already, losing 35-21 in Denver almost two months ago.
The short-handed Chargers were without three starters on defense in the previous meeting as Melvin Ingram, Manti Te'o and Brandon Flowers nursed injuries. Running back Ryan Mathews also sat out, one of seven games he missed with an MCL sprain.
Ingram, Te'o and Flowers have since returned and played well for John Pagano's unit, which has kept opponents to four touchdowns in the last 11 red-zone trips.
Mathews, who came back on Nov. 16, injured his ankle in last week's 23-14 defeat to New England and is highly doubtful for Sunday's game, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He amassed 259 yards and two touchdowns in his last four appearances.
Denver (10-3) has endured injuries of its own in the running game, but C.J. Anderson has emerged as a star, totaling 393 yards and four touchdowns in the last three games. The Broncos struggled to move the ball through the air against Buffalo last week as Peyton Manning was held to 173 yards and two interceptions, but the rushing attack gained 133 yards, and Anderson reached the end zone three times to lift Denver 24-17 over the Bills.
The Broncos can clinch the AFC West with a win or tie over their rivals, and they have notched victories in three straight trips to Qualcomm Stadium.
Keep it locked here for scoring updates and instant analysis.
Game can be seen on CBS at 4:05 p.m. ET.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1yR5Oiu
via IFTTT December 14, 2014 at 12:03PM
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