Fate smiling on Chargers:)

Ed Hochuli aside, fate has been smiling on the Chargers this year.

How else can you explain a 7-8 team that can advance to the playoffs with a win Sunday Night at home vs. the Denver Broncos?

How else can you explain the Broncos losing at home to the Buffalo Bills?

And how else can you explain the Chargers (if they are 8-8) playing at HOME against the Indianapolis Colts (12-4 or 11-5) in the wild card round of the playoffs if the Chargers win this week?

Yes, despite it all, everything really has gone the Chargers’ way this year.

After this week, two teams among Baltimore (10-5), Miami (10-5), New England (10-5) and the New York Jets (9-6) will sit home during the playoffs.

All will have a better record than the Chargers or Denver – yet the Chargers or Broncos will go to the playoffs.

The Chargers certainly did their part with a dominating 41-24 win at Tampa Bay yesterday.

But more than anything, the stars have aligned just right for the Chargers in situations they did not control.

And to think they now control their own destiny!

Life more than fair to Chargers?

We all know that life isn’t fair sometimes.

For the Chargers, that’s a good thing.

If they still somehow manage to make the playoffs by finishing with an 8-8 record, it won’t be fair to many teams.

After all, teams such as Indianapolis, Baltimore, Miami, New England and the New York Jets will each finish with a better record than the Chargers.

But some of them will be on the outside looking in – whether the Chargers make the playoffs or sit home in January.

And as local TV personality Michael Turko says: “That ain’t right.”

It may not have been right when Denver beat the Chargers on a bogus call by referee Ed Hochuli in Week 2, but now the playoff picture is more than fair to the Chargers.

If the Chargers don’t win this week at Tampa Bay, forget about it. The Denver Broncos are in and the Chargers are out from the AFC West.

Yet should the Chargers someone win Sunday at Tampa Bay and Denver loses at home to Buffalo, the AFC West all comes down to Denver at San Diego on Dec. 28.

Don’t count on it!

Prediction:
Tampa Bay 17, Chargers 13

Chargers: Luckiest team in the NFL

Let’s not talk any more about how the Chargers have lost four games in the final 24 seconds.

Let’s not blame it on Ed Hochuli if the Chargers don’t make the playoffs.

When you come right down to it, the Chargers are the luckiest team in the NFL from Week 15.

Outplayed for 59 minutes by Kansas City, the Chargers stumbled their way to a 22-21 win over the two-win Chiefs on Sunday.

This was more luck than anything. Kansas City isn’t 2-12 without reason; it doesn’t know how to win.

If the Chiefs knew how to win, they would have swept the Chargers this season; instead of being swept in a pair of one-point losses.

Everybody is on the bandwagon again now that the Chargers could stay alive in the coming week by winning at Tampa Bay (not likely) AND if Denver loses at home to Buffalo.

But here’s a sobering thought going into this week:

The Chargers have only beaten teams named Oakland and Kansas City since Week 6.

Unless the Chargers step it up about three notches against Tampa Bay, they’ll only be wishing they could play Oakland and Kansas City again.

Referee Ed Hochuli ... dumbest man in the NFL!

Referee Ed Hochuli clearly looks like the strongest referee in the NFL.

After Sunday, it’s safe to say he is all brawn and no brains.

Hochuli’s incompetent officiating clearly cost the San Diego Chargers a 39-38 loss at Denver.

All of America could plainly see Broncos’ quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled the ball away to San Diego in the game’s waning moments, which should have closed out a 38-31 win.

But Hochuli let his muscles get in the way of his vision by ruling it an incomplete pass and blowing his whistle; costing the Chargers the ball and blowing the game.

"That’s not acceptable," Chargers’ coach Norv Turner rightfully said more than once in the aftermath.

Oh, sure, the Chargers still could have held the Broncos from the 10 – or stopped a two-point conversion – to win the game a second time.

But once you’ve won the game, why have to win it a second time?

And what was with the instant replay not working in the first quarter?

All of America could see on TV replays that San Diego’s Chris Chambers was obviously down after catching a pass. Hochuli’s crew called it an interception, which was news to TV viewers but not the incompetency in the replay booth.

That was bad enough. Hochuli’s ridiculous call at the end was the worst thing some of us have since the Holy Roller 30 years ago by the Oakland Raiders.

There’s no excuse for Hochuli’s incompetency ... or the Chargers’ 0-2 start!