This time last month, the Chargers looked like a collection of extras from "The Walking Dead." They lost six consecutive games at one point, a stretch of ineptitude that seemed to end their Super Bowl hopes.
Much of this fell on the shoulders of Philip Rivers, who dipped into a mysterious funk that still hasn't been explained. Luckily for San Diego, Rivers snapped out of it and has returned to performing at an MVP level during a three-game winning streak. The Chargers now are even at 7-7, one game behind the Broncos in the AFC West with two to play.
Rivers was a guest this week on XEPRS-AM, where he discussed San Diego's sudden turnaround and his feeling that coach Norv Turner deserves to keep his job ... whether the Chargers make the playoffs or not.
"We expect to go win these next two and see what happens, but whatever happens, that's the way I feel," Rivers said, referring to Turner keeping his job. "That six-game losing streak, all the turnovers, all the injuries, all the things that were going on -- those aren't excuses -- but had we been getting beat 38-10 and 28-3 and can't get a first down, maybe it's a little more fair. We had a chance to win every single game.
"I know it's about winning and losing, but I think Norv and his staff did an excellent job of keeping us in every game," Rivers continued. "We've won 48 games the last five years. That's a lot of football games, and I think Norv's done an excellent job."
Rivers obviously has a lot of respect for Turner, and the quarterback knows his midseason stretch of poor play has put his coach in harm's way. Trying to guess how San Diego's front office will react is difficult -- remember, the Chargers fired Turner's predecessor, Marty Schottenheimer, coming off a 14-2 season.
