Here we are at Week 17 and the Broncos and the Chargers will meet on Sunday Night Football for the AFC West Crown. It is a playoff game for these teams. Nothing else affects this game and it is a "Win and You're in, Lose and You're Done" game. The Broncos have led the AFC West the entire season. They were 8-5 and San Diego was 5-8 at one point less than a month ago. If the Broncos lose on Sunday, they would be the first team to lose a division with a three game lead and three games to go. The collapse would be the worst in franchise history. The Broncos loss to the Bills in Denver last week was one of the worst defeats ever in Bronco history. San Diego is favored by 9 points. The Chargers are red hot and Denver is in a downward spiral. Nothing looks good for Denver on Sunday Night. The game is in San Diego (The Whale's Vagina), the Chargers are on a roll, Philip Rivers is staking his claim to the MVP, LT is getting back on track, and the Charger defense is suddenly playing well. Every expert on ESPN or NFL Network is picking San Diego. The Chargers' message boards have posts like "Are you even nervous for this game?" and "I think we will beat Indy in the first round." Is this one of those classic "Everyone is picking one team and then they get shocked" games? The only way Denver stays competitive in this game is if they can force one turnover or get one big break in the first half. Denver will be able to move the ball on SD, and Rivers will certainly pick apart Denver's secondary, but who will get the turnovers and breaks in the game. Logic says San Diego, but if Denver can find a way to cause a turnover, then the Broncos will have a chance to pull the upset. Look at the games on the road against the Jets, Falcons, and Browns. The Broncos got big turnovers in those games and it helped them win all three. If the Broncos don't get a turnover, then they will get buried. The Charger offense will be too much for Denver's defense. The Broncos might have to score 4o to win this game and that won't happen. Look for a big day from Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Darren Sproles(The Bronco Killer). The defense will frustrate Cutler into a back-breaking Interception and San Diego will partying with their AFC West hats and t-shirts on the sidelines. The aftermath will be interesting in Denver. Losing the division title to the once-dead Chargers at 8-8, might set the Bronco franchise back another number of years. The bottom line is that this is the Chargers' Division, and it was all year. Denver caught a break in the "Ed Hochuli Game" and San Diego lost some close games throughout the year. Denver's defense and turnover problems (Getting Takeaways on Defense and Giveaways on Offense) killed the Broncos all year. Will Bob Slowik get fired at the end? Will this be Shanahan's last game as Bronco Head Coach? How many defensive players get sent packing? We have all these questions to answer all off season. I would love to say that Denver will step up and pull the upset; however, this Denver team simply isn't good enough to do that. It will be a long night in San Diego on Sunday, and it will be a long, long Winter and off season in Denver.
FINAL SCORE: San Diego:41 Denver:20
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