As I alluded to below, the Chargers had 3 good chances to win against the Broncos on Sunday:
Down 31-38, the Broncos have 2nd and goal at the Chargers 1 yard line. Cutler fumbles the ball, but Ed Hochuli initially thinks it's a forward pass, and blows the play dead as soon as the ball hits the ground. Broncos retain posession. At fault: Ed Hochuli.
After a 6 yard run, the Broncos have 4th and goal at the 4. All the Chargers have to do is keep the Broncos out of the end zone, and they win. Cutler to Royal for 4 yards, Touchdown. At fault: Chargers defense.
Still down 37-38, the Broncos elect to go for the two-point conversion. All the Chargers have to do is keep the Broncos out of the end zone, and they win. Cutler to Royal, Attempt succeeds. At fault: Chargers defense.
It's no great shock that Norv Turner is focusing on the first chance, as it can be blamed on someone not associated with the Chargers organization. But the Broncos offense ran 3 plays after that, and the Chargers had two solid chances to deny the Broncos, and couldn't get it done.
Oh, yeah—remember what happened to the Chargers in week 1? Panthers are down 19-24. They have 4th and 1 at the Chargers 14 yard line, with two seconds left. All the Chargers have to do is keep the Panthers out of the end zone, and they win. Delhomme to Rosario for 14 yards, Touchdown. At fault: Chargers defense.
At this point, I will only offer a paraphrase of Auric's rule:
Once is coincidence. Twice is happenstance. Three times is the Chargers sucking.
