A Chargers Christmas Miracle - SportsTop's Blog

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A Chargers Christmas Miracle

Posted on December 24, 2008 at 05:25 PM.

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As a San Diego Charger fan you kind of get used to disappointment.

The high of the '94 AFC Championship victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers was quickly replaced by the record setting crushing defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
The miracle 12-4 season of '04 ended too quickly at the hands of the underdog New York Jets in the last seconds of overtime.
The dominance of the '06 season ended prematurely as well to the upset-minded New England Patriots as fumbles and miscues cost the Chargers a shot at the AFC Championship.
The '07 season returned everyone from the '06 season, but injuries finally caught up to them in the AFC Championship game as the Bolts gave the undefeated Patriots everything they could handle, narrowly losing in a closely contested game.

2008 was supposed to be the year everything came together. The Chargers had, arguably, the best running back, tight end, and defensive pass rusher in the NFL as well as a Pro Bowl QB and several other players at key positions.

Crushing defeats quickly became the theme for 2008 as the Chargers found ways to blow leads in the seconds of games to the Panthers, Broncos, Steelers, and Colts. Mix in a few uninspired performances against the Dolphins and Bills and the Bolts were sitting with a pathetic record of 4-8.

Then something magical happened.

After a win against the hapless Raiders and nearly completely lifeless for nearly the entire game, the Chargers scored 12 points in the final 1:13 (including an onside kick recovery) to take a one point lead and held their breath as Kansas City's last second field goal attempt sailed wide.

Still, the Chargers were sure to lose to the Buccaneers the following week, right? Even if they somehow pulled out a victory at Tampa Bay, there was no way the Broncos were going to let Buffalo come into their house and spoil their playoff hopes, right?

Then the previous week's magic still had a little something left.

San Diego played one of their best games of the year in blowing out the Bucs and then, on a 4th and 5 from inside Buffalo's 20 yard line and less than a minute left in the game, Jay Cutler's pass was knocked out of Brandon Stokley's hands in the end zone and the Chargers post season hopes were brought back from the dead.

Now, after the infamous Ed Hochuli game in week two, the Chargers and Broncos meet in final week of the season with the AFC West division title and a trip to the playoffs at stake.

I must admit, my powder blue Chargers jersey was hung up in the closet after their week 13 loss to the Falcons. They were 4-8 and all hopes of the post season were long gone. But here I sit, pulling it off the hanger and hoping my Bolts can pull off one more win to slip through the back door into the playoffs where anything can happen to a team playing well at the right time.

So Santa, if you're still taking requests, could you possibly deliver another Chargers victory for Christmas? I think we deserve a nice little post season run when it's least expected after so many years of disappointment.

Please?