Philip Rivers doesn’t care that the Chargers must hit the road on wild-card weekend despite winning a dozen games, including a 23-9 nail-biter in Denver on Sunday in which he completed just 14 passes.
Nor does he mind facing the Baltimore Ravens, who thumped the Chargers 22-10 last weekend in Los Angeles.
The Chargers have won six straight on the road and went 7-1 away from home with their only road loss coming literally up the road to the Rams back in September.
For their first playoff appearance in five years, the Chargers will face a rejuvenated Ravens team that’s won six of seven under rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson and features the league’s No. 1 defense.
“It’s a heck of a challenge,” Rivers said. “I don’t think there was a team that wasn’t going to be a heck of a challenge. … They’re all good. That team outplayed us last week and it will be a new game, new everything. We’ll see who can play the best this time.”
Were it not for a last-second loss to the Broncos at home in November, the Chargers would have supplanted the Chiefs as the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and earned a first-round bye.
So, it turns out the Broncos (6-10) were the spoilers even though they lost again Sunday. That’s of no consolation to a franchise careening into another offseason of uncertainty after posting double-digit losses in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1966-67, an ignominy that could cost second-year coach Vance Joseph his job .
“I want to come back and make this thing right,” said Joseph, who’s expected to meet with general manager John Elway on Monday morning to learn if he’ll get that opportunity.
Joseph acknowledged an 11-21 record isn’t good enough by the Broncos’ standards, “but I think we’ve put a lot of work in. There’s a foundation that’s been laid here that should pay off in the future.”
That bedrock, said defensive end Derek Wolfe, is a never-quit attitude that was on display again Sunday.
“V.J., he’s one of my favorite people on this planet. I love that guy with all my heart and I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Wolfe said, adding that he’d hate to see the Broncos go in search of their fourth coach in six seasons.
Rivers was just 14 of 24 for 176 yards and a touchdown and he threw two interceptions in the first quarter, something that’s happened just twice before in Rivers’ 15-year NFL career.
“It’s not as good as we want to play, but again, I don’t see any pattern,” Rivers said of the offensive struggles in back-to-back games. “I really don’t buy into patterns or momentums in the games. It hasn’t been as good. I think you look at our collective body of work this year and it’s been good enough to win 12 games.”
And the Broncos were bad enough to lose 10.
They were done in mostly by their feeble offense that punted on its first drive for the ninth straight game and which managed a mere two touchdowns in its last 34 first-half drives, endangering offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave no matter who’s coaching the team in 2019.
Denver’s offense accounted for just nine points — six on fullback Andy Janovich’s first career touchdown and a chip-shot field goal by Brandon McManus.
Denver’s offense also accounted for nine points by the Chargers.
After Janovich’s first career TD pulled Denver to 14-9 with 10 minutes remaining, cornerback Casey Hayward Jr. stepped in front of rookie receiver Courtland Sutton and picked off the 2-point conversion attempt. He slipped Suttons’ tackle at the goal line and raced 102 yards to give the Chargers a 16-9 lead.
Then, Rivers had his only sustained drive, capped by Austin Ekeler’s 1-yard TD run .
Rivers’ only TD throw was a 3-yard toss to Mike Williams that made it 14-3 came after Joey Bosa’s fumble recovery at the Denver 16.
The Chargers took a 7-3 halftime lead thanks to a defensive touchdown .
Keenum hit Royce Freeman with a low screen that he didn’t secure. A hard hit by cornerback Desmond King II to a prone Freeman popped the ball loose, and linebacker Kyle Emmanuel scooped it up and ran 11 yards for a 7-0 lead the Chargers would never relinquish.
AROUND THE NFL SUNDAY
–The Baltimore Ravens were able to lock up the AFC North title and the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs, which left the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the postseason for the first time since 2013. The Ravens reached the playoffs for the first time in four years by rushing for 296 yards in a 26-24 victory over the visiting Browns. Lamar Jackson rushed for two TDs and accounted for 90 yards on the ground. Kenneth Dixon had 117 yards rushing for Baltimore, which was 4-5 before Jackson took over for injured quarterback Joe Flacco. Cleveland got to the Baltimore 39 with 90 seconds left before three straight incompletions by Baker Mayfield were followed by a fourth-down interception by linebacker C.J. Mosley.
–In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger passed for 287 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers downed the Bengals, 16-13. Roethlisberger finished the season with a career-best and NFL-high 5,129 yards passing, but the Steelers needed three field goals by Matt McCrane to improve to 9-6-1. McCrane connected on kicks of 39, 47 and 35 yards, the last coming with 1:56 to go that put Pittsburgh in front to stay. But the field goals weren’t enough to save the Steelers, who needed Tennessee and Indianapolis to tie their game at Nashville.
–The Colts are in the AFC playoffs as the No. 6 seed after earning a 33-17 winner-take-all against the Titans. Andrew Luck threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns to improve to 11-0 versus the Titans. Marlon Mack ran for 119 yards and a TD for the 10-6 Colts, who are in the playoffs despite a 1-5 start. Indianapolis will take on Houston in the wild-card round.
— The Eagles have worked themselves into the playoffs at 9-7 as Nick Foles tied Philip Rivers’ NFL record by completing 25 straight passes in a 24-0 shutout of Washington. Foles also threw for 221 yards and two scores before leaving the game because of a chest injury. Philadelphia gave up just 89 yards, edged Minnesota for the final NFC playoff berth and earned a wild-card game matchup with the Bears in Chicago. The Redskins end up 7-9 despite a 6-3 start.
— The Bears knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs as Jordan Howard rushed for 109 yards and two TDs in Chicago’s 24-10 win at Minnesota. Tarik Cohen scored the last touchdown on a short run with 7:46 left to cap a 16-play drive for the 12-4 Bears. The Vikings netted just 164 total yards as Kirk Cousins completed 20 of 33 passes for 132 yards and a TD to Stephon Diggs.
— Kansas City finally clinched its third consecutive AFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a 35-3 pounding of the Raiders. Patrick Mahomes threw for 281 yards, highlighted by a 67-yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill and an 89-yard TD toss to Demarcus Robinson for the 12-4 Chiefs. That gave the first-year starter 5,097 yards and 50 touchdown passes, joining Peyton Manning as the only QBs to hit 5,000 and 50 in the same season.
— The Patriots claimed a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs as Tom Brady threw for three first-half touchdowns in a 38-3 trouncing of the Jets. Brady completed 24 of 33 passes for 250 yards and four scores overall to help New England finish 11-5. Sam Darnold completed 16 of 28 passes for the 4-12 Jets, but he accounted for just 167 yards and had a fumble that gave New England a touchdown.
— The Texans wrapped up the AFC South title at 11-5 by silencing the Jaguars, 20-3. Deshaun Watson threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown to help Houston secure its fifth division title. DeAndre Hopkins had 147 yards receiving against Jacksonville, which finished 5-11 just a year after reaching the AFC championship game.
— The Rams secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs as Brandin Cooks and Josh Reynolds caught two touchdown passes apiece from Jared Goff in a 48-32 victory against the 49ers. Cory Littleton returned one of his two interceptions for a TD as the 13-3 Rams forced four turnovers and wrapped up their winningest regular season since 2001. Nick Mullens passed for 282 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions for the 4-12 49ers, who wrapped up their fifth consecutive non-winning season.
— Cole Beasley made a lunging catch in the end zone on a 32-yard pass from Dak Prescott with 72 seconds left before a two-point conversion pass to Michael Gallup gave the Cowboys a 36-35 win over the Giants. Prescott threw for four touchdowns and the Cowboys moved to 10-6 with their seventh win in eight games. Blake Jarwin became the first Dallas tight end since Billy Joe DuPree in 1973 to grab three TD passes. Giants rising star Saquon Barkley joined Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only rookies with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards, but New York finished 5-11.
— Seattle has the No. 5 seed in the NFC and a wild-card meeting at Dallas after Sebastian Janikowski made a 33-yard field goal on the final play of the Seahawks’ 27-24 win against the Cardinals. Chris Carson rushed for a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown, but Seattle’s offense stumbled. Russell Wilson got sacked six times and a litany of special teams mistakes allowed Arizona to stick around far longer than expected.
— Having already wrapped up the top seed in the NFC playoffs, the 13-3 Saints rested many of their starters in a 33-14 loss to Carolina. Undrafted rookie Kyle Allen passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns before injuring his shoulder in the fourth quarter of the Panthers’ first win in eight games. The 7-9 Panthers led 23-0 at halftime, marking the first time since coach Sean Payton was hired by New Orleans in 2006 that the Saints were shut out at home in a first half.
— Matthew Stafford threw for 266 yards and two scores to T.J. Jones before the Lions’ defense completed a 31-0 shutout of the Packers. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers never finished the game after suffering a concussion early in the second quarter. Matt Prater tossed a touchdown pass after faking a field-goal try to help Detroit end up 6-10 and drop the Packers to 6-9-1.
— Bills rookie Josh Allen had a career-best three touchdown passes and scored two more rushing in a 42-17 thrashing of the Dolphins. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams closed his 13-year career in Buffalo with a tackle for a loss and was part of a defense that forced four turnovers, including three by Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Miami ends up 7-9, while the Bills finish 6-10.
— Matt Ryan’s first career reception went for a touchdown and the Atlanta quarterback also threw for 378 yards and two scores in a 34-32 victory against the Buccaneers. The Falcons blew an 11-point lead before Matt Bryant nailed his second field goal of the afternoon, a 37-yarder as time expired for the 7-9 Falcons. Jameis Winston rallied the 5-11 Bucs from a 31-20 deficit to a one-point lead with just over five minutes to go.