the last time the chargers won the afc west was 1994.
the last time the chargers won the afc west was 1994.
when was the last time the chargers won the afc west?
1994
the chargers would only appear and lose in three championship games since then. the chargers were set to defend their 1963 afl title in 1964 against the buffalo bills. however, a key play by mike stratton on keith lincoln would help the bills win, 20–7. the next year, the chargers played the bills again in the championship game and were shut out 23–0. the quarterback for the bills (and the game mvp) in both of those games was former charger jack kemp (and incidentally, those two championships would also be buffalo's last). in 1966, team owner and founder barron hilton was forced to sell off the team to appease the board of directors of hilton hotels. since hilton sold the team, the chargers have only had one super bowl appearance, in 1994, when they lost 49–26 to the san francisco 49ers, as san francisco quarterback and eventual mvp steve young threw for a super bowl–record six touchdowns. additionally, eight members of that 1994 chargers team, including team captain junior seau, died before the age of 45. since appearing in the super bowl, the chargers have fielded some dominant teams that appeared to be super bowl-type teams, only to take an early playoff exit. in 2004, the chargers finished 12-4 and hosted the new york jets in the wild card game, but they lost the game in overtime 20-17 despite rallying from a 17-7 fourth quarter deficit. in 2006, the chargers finished a league-best 14-2 and clinched the 1 seed in the afc playoffs. they hosted the new england patriots in the divisional round. late in the 4th quarter, with the chargers leading 21-13, patriots quarterback tom brady threw an interception to marlin mccree, which likely would've clinched victory. however, he was stripped of the ball by patriots wide receiver troy brown and the patriots recovered and took over in chargers territory. the patriots were able to tie the score at 21 and ultimately won the game 24-21 on a late field goal. this has since gone down as one of the greatest "what-ifs" in chargers history, going down as "what if marlin mccree holds on to the ball?". in 2007, the chargers finished 11-5 and won the afc west once again, and this time were able to advance to the afc championship game. despite praise from the media for philip rivers playing through a torn acl he had suffered the previous week in the division round win over the indianapolis colts, the chargers fell to the 17-0 new england patriots by a score of 21-12. since their super bowl appearance in 1994, this remains the only time the chargers have reached the afc championship game since that time. in 2008, the chargers became the first team in nfl history to start a season 4-8 and make the playoffs by winning their final 4 games, including a 52-21 victory in a win-and-in game over the denver broncos. after upsetting the indianapolis colts in the wild card game, the chargers lost to the pittsburgh steelers in the next round 35-24. in 2009, after a slow 2-3 start, the chargers won their last 11 games to finish the season at 13-3 and finish as the afc's number 2 seed. but in the divisional round against the new york jets, the chargers lost 17-14 which included 3 missed field goals by kicker nate kaeding. after the string of 4 consecutive afc west crowns from 2006-2009, the chargers only made the playoffs once in their final 7 seasons in san diego, in 2013 when they finished as the afc's number 6 seed after having won 4 in a row after a 5-7 start. they beat the cincinnati bengals in the wild card round 27-10, but lost to the denver broncos in the next round 24-17.
sports-related curses
bullet::::- december 28, 2008: the broncos and chargers met in the regular-season finale in san diego, with the winner clinching the afc west title. three weeks earlier, the broncos were 8–5 and the chargers were 5–8, with the broncos losing their next two games and the chargers winning their next two to pull to within one game of the broncos for the division lead. three and a half months after the aforementioned controversial broncos' win in denver, the chargers exacted revenge, with an emphatic 52–21 win that not only completed a monumental broncos' season-ending collapse, but also denied the broncos a playoff berth. the two teams finished the 2008 season tied for first-place in the afc west, each with an 8–8 record, however, the chargers won the division based on a better record against afc west divisional opponents (5–1 to the broncos' 3–3). this was also mike shanahan's last game as the broncos' head coach, as he was fired two days later after 14 seasons.
broncos–chargers rivalry