AFC West champ Chargers glad to be in playoffs at 8-8

SAN DIEGO -- The mild, mild AFC West belongs to LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and the rest of the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers won their third straight division title by finishing 8-8, becoming the first team to go from 4-8 to the playoffs by routing the Denver Broncos 52-21 on Sunday.

"This is obviously history in they way we trailed the division and now won it," Rivers said after San Diego's fourth straight win -- and 14th straight in the month of December. "We all had the expectations to get here. We obviously went a different route than we thought we would. But we're here."

It really, truly wasn't the way anyone thought the talented Chargers would get to January, considering they were a popular preseason pick to make it to the Super Bowl.

Mission Valley turned into Mediocre Valley as the Chargers became the first team to win a division at 8-8 since the Cleveland Browns in 1985. They're the ninth team to reach the playoffs at 8-8; only two of the previous teams won a game in the playoffs.

Tomlinson, who didn't return after straining a groin muscle in the third quarter, had his first three-touchdown game of the season. Rivers threw his 33rd and 34th touchdown passes to break Hall of Famer Dan Fouts' team season record set in 1981.

"It's a tribute to the guys who kept believing and kept fighting," said Tomlinson, who plans to have an MRI exam on today. "Very prideful guys in that locker room. And at the point we were 4-8, we didn't know what was going to happen with Denver, but for us it was about how were we going to finish."

Denver (8-8) completed a monumental collapse, becoming the first team since division play began in 1967 to miss the playoffs after having a three-game lead with three weeks to go. Needing just one win to wrap up the division, the Broncos lost at Carolina, at home to Buffalo and then to the Chargers.

"Obviously it's not the same football team that started the year," coach Mike Shanahan said of a team that started 3-0.

"It was kind of frustrating to see that three-game lead come down to this and see San Diego kind of take off on us," Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall said. "But, hey, that's football.

San Diego set a team record with 289 rushing yards.

"We physically beat the hell out of them. I can't say it any other way," Pro Bowl left guard Kris Dielman said.