The San Diego Chargers took a huge step towards a possible deep run into the AFC playoffs as they disposed of the Denver Broncos, 23-3, Sunday night at Qualcomm Park.

The Chargers remain the #3 seed in the AFC playoff picture heading into the final week of the season. San Diego travels to Oakland next Sunday to take on the Raiders. A Chargers win locks up the #3 seed and they would avoid dangerous Jacksonville in the first round.

If San Diego drops to the fourth seed, they would host Jacksonville in the opening round of the wild card weekend. If the Chargers beat the Jaguars, they would almost certainly head to New England to take on the undefeated Patriots. New England pasted San Diego, 38-14, in week 2 in Foxborough. 

A San Diego win next weekend in Oakland and they host either Cleveland or Tennessee in the opening round of the wild card weekend. The Chargers would then travel to Indianapolis, who they beat earlier this year at home 23-21, for a divisional round game.

It all adds up for San Diego.

Win next weekend and there’s a good chance you could be playing in the AFC Championship game for the right to represent your conference in the Super Bowl. Lose and you will probably not have to make travel plans to the Midwest or the East Coast. 

San Diego looked impressive as they routed the Broncos on Monday Night Football on Christmas Eve. The Chargers are starting to resemble the team that went 14-2 and earned home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs last season.

The Chargers got off to a 1-3 start this season and many people were calling for coach Norv Turner’s head. San Diego then reeled off three consecutive wins. Losses to Minnesota and Jacksonville on the road sandwiched between a win against the Colts, left the Chargers at .500 ten games into the season.

San Diego has won their last five games. The Chargers clinched the AFC West title last weekend. They look to keep the momentum rolling after throttling the Broncos for the fourth consecutive time.

It turned out to be a walkover for the Chargers who beat the Broncos behind the running of LaDainian Tomlinson. LT is closing in on his second straight NFL rushing title and San Diego is inching closer to the No. 3 playoff seed.

Tomlinson had a 17-yard scoring run among his 107 yards before sitting out the bulk of the second half, already having scampered into the rushing lead with 1,418 yards. His route to another title was made easier when Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker (1,316) broke his right lower leg on Thursday night, finishing his season.

L.T.’s closest pursuer is Minnesota rookie Adrian Peterson, who has 1,305 yards after being held to just 27 yards on nine carries in a loss to Washington on Sunday night. Peterson set the NFL single-game record of 296 yards against San Diego on Nov. 4.    

Tomlinson, the 2006 NFL MVP, had only four of his 19 carries in the second half.

Tomlinson felt his hamstring grab following a 6-yard run, his final carry of the night, just as it did a week earlier in a blowout against Detroit. He checked by trainer James Collins, and coach Norv Turner decided he’d carried enough.

The Chargers held the Broncos (6-9) without a touchdown in the season series. The Bolts beat the Broncos 41-3 at Denver on Oct. 7 to end a three-game losing streak.

San Diego is on a four-game postseason losing streak.

That streak should come to an end as the Chargers will totally dominate the Silver and Black next weekend in Oakland.

The Chargers will snap that four-game playoff slide as they will pounded either Cleveland or Tennessee at home in the opening round of the 2007 NFL playoffs.