The San Diego Chargers are now in first place in the AFC West. Joining us on Morning Edition live from Denver is North County Times sports columnist Jay Paris. Hey Jay, how did the Chargers keep the Broncos to just three points in the Mile High City?
JAY PARIS: It was a combination of things, really. The defense played awfully well, and has been playing well during this winning streak, which has really flipped the season. And the Broncos situation--their quarterback wasn't real good, they tried to go with Chris Simms. He was ineffective, and they went with Kyle Orton, who had a bad ankle after that. And a bad ankle, and an aggressive Charger defense, for a quarterback, isn't a good recipe. The Chargers let them have it, and went after them, and were really aggressive. That's real impressive, that's a pretty good offense, three points. That was really the story line in the locker room. Offensive and defensive players mentioning how impressive a feat that was.
PAMELA DAVIS: So the Chargers are now on a five-game winning streak. The Broncos lost four straight. Do you think the Chargers will win the division title?
PARIS: It sure looks like it. And if we would have said that a month ago, they would have asked us to walk the line or something, because this has been quite a transformation. They're up a game, they don't play the Broncos again. Denver's a big old snowball rolling down the mountain, they're just picking up steam in the opposite direction. They've lost four in a row now, and the fans have kind of turned on them here in Denver, which is rare. This is a passionate fan base, but they were heading for the exits yesterday in the third quarter, which--I've been coming here 17 years, I've never seen that. So the fans are down on them, and the players are starting to doubt themselves, no doubt.
DWANE BROWN: November is usually a pretty good month for the Chargers. Looking ahead, Jay, where are the challenges?
PARIS: They still have to play the Cincinnati Bengals. That's going to be a tough game. And they have to go to Dallas, which will be tough as well, and you never quite know what the Tennessee Titans are going to do on Christmas. So, you know, the heavy lifting really is behind the Chargers. The recent stretch where they had to go to New York and play the Giants, where they had to play the Philadelphia Eagles at home, and go to Denver, which has been a graveyard for a lot of Charger teams. This was a big bite out of the pie, and they took that bite, and they're enjoying the good taste. So, from here on out, you know, it looks good. That being said, it's the NFL and just about anything can happen.
