Alt Ranks: Chargers fall short here, too

The San Diego Chargers and their awesome fans have suffered through many indignities during the Norv Turner era, but a loss to the Jets would have been the final blow the franchise would have never been able to recover.

The Chargers did, however, prevail. And while it does completely nuke their chances of being the No. 1 team in these Alt Ranks, at least the Chargers fans can laugh at another fan base for a change.

When was the last time you saw Turner smile like that? Well, that's sort of a smile, right?

And without further ado ...

One of the best on-the-field stories of the NFL this season is the play of the three rookie quarterbacks. And you have to think long and hard to when three rookie signal callers played so well. On the other side, probably the most underreported story of the year is how the Cardinals have managed to accumulate the three worst quarterbacks in the league on one roster. And if you think of other guys who have come through Arizona recently, including Max Hall and Derek Anderson, that accomplishment is almost as difficult.

The Eagles were a little too competitive in their game against the Redskins on Sunday. And yes, style points do count when it comes to the Alt Ranks, so the Eagles will actually take a step back. Having LeSean McCoy return and play as well as he did certainly didn't help the Eagles, either.

If the Lions want to seriously take a run at No. 1 for next season, the team must retain Coach Jim Schwartz. When you look at Schwartz on the sideline, he has that glean in his eye which shows a blowout game can happen at any time. Honestly, it's pretty tough for a former defensive coordinator to have a defense which plays so poorly. And not many coaches would be able to waste the primes of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, but Schwartz has found a way to get it done.

Wow, you really make a statement when you play host to a team that has looked disinterested in the season and manage to get blown out. Greg McElroy was sacked 11 times in this game. Think about that. McElroy looked out at his receivers and thought, you know what, we'd be much better off if I took a big hit and lost yards here, as opposed to actually throwing it. Things are so bad with the Jets, even Tim Tebow refused to go into the game.

And credit Rex Ryan for making the job in New York so toxic, nobody is going to come calling for it. He's a genius!

The Jaguars put a scare into their own fans when they took the Patriots to the brink. But like the Jags always do, they found a way to not get it done when it mattered the most. That's the Jags.

You have to admire the Chiefs' commitment to being No. 1. In a huge game against the Colts, they decided, you know what; we're just going to have Jamaal Charles run the ball on every play. Although the plan nearly backfired on the Chiefs as they remained more competitive than they deserved. But like the great ones do, they rose to the occasion and did the j-o-b.

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