A rare December loss threw a wrench into the San Diego Chargers’ plans of winning a fifth straight AFC West title.
The rival Kansas City Chiefs would love to put the final nail in their coffin, but may have to do it without red-hot quarterback Matt Cassel.
With Cassel on the mend, the AFC West-leading Chiefs could be forced to start backup Brodie Croyle on Sunday when they travel to San Diego looking to sweep the season series for the first time in seven years.
Kansas City (8-4) is closing in on its first division title since 2003. The Chiefs have a two-game lead on the Chargers (6-6) and hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their 21-14 victory in Week 1.
That loss was part of the usual early-season struggles for San Diego, which has won the AFC West each of the last four years thanks to strong second-half finishes.
After a 2-5 start, the Chargers ripped off four straight wins and seemed poised for another late-season surge.
San Diego’s 36-14 win over Indianapolis on Nov. 28 gave it 18 straight victories in December, which tied the league record for the most wins in any month.
However, Philip Rivers was sacked four times and the Chargers ran for just 21 yards, the seventh-lowest total in franchise history, in a stunning 28-13 loss to Oakland last week.
It was a crushing setback for San Diego, which now needs help in order to make the playoffs. The Chargers would also lose a tiebreaker with Oakland, which swept them for the first time since 2001.
The most disconcerting part was that San Diego’s normally stout run defense sprung a leak. The Raiders racked up 251 rushing yards against what had been the best run defense in the NFL.
Kansas City, which has the league’s top-ranked rushing attack (175.2 ypg), will certainly look to take advantage of the Chargers’ suddenly porous run defense – especially since Cassel could miss up to two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy on Wednesday.
The AFC’s Offensive Player of the Month in November is listed as “questionable” for this matchup. But reports say doctors have told him to avoid strenuous activities until three to five days after the procedure.
Cassel was 90 for 144 for 1,111 yards and 12 touchdowns with only one interception in November. For the season, Cassel has completed 212 of 354 passes for 2,503 yards and 23 touchdowns with a league-low four interceptions.
If Cassel is out, the Chiefs will be forced to turn to Croyle, a third-round pick in 2006 who was once viewed as the team's future at quarterback. Croyle has thrown for 1,631 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine starts (0-9). He hasn’t started since 2008.
Croyle’s presence may impact Dwayne Bowe, who will try to get back on track after being held without a catch in last week’s 10-6 win over Denver.
Bowe leads the league with 14 touchdown receptions and he entered with at least one touchdown catch in a team-record seven straight games.
But the fourth-year wideout was blanketed by All-Pro Champ Bailey all afternoon. He and Croyle could be in for another long day against the Chargers, who are tops in the NFL against the pass (186.3 ypg).
Thus, the Chiefs will probably rely on their dynamic tandem of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. The duo combined to run for 185 yards against Denver.
Charles (1,137 yards) is looking to join Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only players in league history to run for over 1,100 yards with an average of at least 6.2 yards per carry.
The third-year former track star had a 56-yard touchdown run in the Week 1 victory that ended Kansas City’s five-game losing streak to San Diego.