[TomWilkinson]

The San Diego Chargers hit a major stumbling block on the road to the playoffs and it could be too much to overcome. San Diego lost a game against Miami they were heavily favored to win, and now they are looking at having to win their final three games and get some help to make the playoffs. It is not going to be easy.
The Chargers have a rough road ahead. The start by having to face the undefeated Colts at Indianapolis this week, at Kansas City the following week and finish up at home against Denver.

"It's very difficult, because you think about 'what if,' " said LaDainian Tomlinson. "It's normal to do that. 'What if' is always creeping up in your head but I think you've got to constantly remind yourself that 'what if' could have been easily 13-0 like the Colts."

The Colts are a win away from joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only NFL teams to go 14-0 and are chasing the NFL's second perfect season. Colts coach Tony Dungy said Monday that he will play his regulars even though Indianapolis has won its third straight AFC South title and earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

"I think they want to stay sharp," Tomlinson said. "I think they want to continue to go after this record, so I think we will see their best." The Dolphins definitely did not see the Chargers at their best on Sunday. "I mean, gosh, that one just got away from us," quarterback Drew Brees said. "If you could have told me before the game that we'd run 88 plays and possess the ball for almost 40 minutes, I would have told you we scored a ton of points and blew them out. But the fact is, we only scored 21 points and we didn't win, so we didn't do our job."

"We didn't play to the level we're capable of playing," coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "Flat? No. And certainly not the product of overlooking the Miami Dolphins.”

"I think it is widely acknowledged in the National Football League that there are no gimme games," Schottenheimer said. "I told you last week Miami has a good defense; it's hard to score points on the Miami Dolphins."