Momentum or mirage?
The fourth quarter is underway and it's officially a rout, San Diego 41, Denver 3, after Michael Turner's 74-yard touchdown run. It's raining, and Broncos fans -- typically hardy and loyal -- headed for the exits in droves before the fourth quarter had even begun.
But the operative question: Are the Chargers this good? Or are the Broncos this bad?
Many of the folks who cover the Broncos that I ran into at Saturday night's Rockies-Phillies game predicted that San Diego would win this one, because the Broncos have been so un-Bronco like this season (including a stunning inability to stop the run).
They were right, though I don't think even the most hardened skeptics expected the mistake-o-rama that the Broncos put on display Sunday. Brian Clark's fumbled kickoff resulted in a Charger touchdown. Brandon Marshall's fumble short-circuited another Bronco drive. Jay Cutler's third quarter interception set up seven more San Diego points.
Meanwhile, the Chargers didn't self-destruct, as they have so often this year. Give them credit for that. Norv Turner and Clarence Shelmon seem to have simplified the game plan for Philip Rivers, who kept the mistakes to a minimum and completed 13 of 18 passes through three periods -- including 8 for 8 for 160 yards and two scores in the third quarter.
And here's the next question? Is this an inidcation that things are turning around? Or is it just a tease of a performance against a team more beleaguered than they?