What is clear about the AFC looking at the teams currently still alive in the playoffs is that they are all mentally tough, cold weather football teams.  While the Chargers have been an explosive team for a while, it hasn’t translated into a lot of playoff success while New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and New York have all seen plenty of postseason winning in recent years.  Though the Chargers should throw the ball, mainly due to the incredible talent of Philip Rivers, they need to find a way to toughen up their roster so that they can compete with teams better prepared for a postseason run.

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When the Chargers slid up in the 2010 draft to select Ryan Mathews, fantasy football players everywhere immediately chalked him up as one of the up-and-coming players in the NFL.  Unfortunately for Mathews, however, he got a hard lesson about what it’s like to play in a league that chews up running backs.  While everyone, including Mathews, had high hopes for his season, he ended up playing second fiddle to Mike Tolbert, who established himself as a legitimate ground threat after previously being the team’s fullback.  Despite a couple blips of brilliance, including a great last game to the season, Mathews had a sub-par rookie season and has a lot to prove heading into 2011.

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While the Chargers continue to look for a way to get their franchise to the next level, one team they should look at is the Patriots as they look to add to their already incredible recent run.  Under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the Pats have already won three titles and enter the playoffs as the number one overall seed in the league.  The Pats did it this year by abandoning their down-the-field offense and working the ball underneath instead.  Using a variety of low-profile guys, including Wes Welker, Benjarvis Green-Ellis, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, Brady had arguably his best overall season and is the clear favorite for NFL MVP.

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Even though the Chargers aren’t playing this weekend, they still could learn a little bit from the teams that still are.  One trend that definitely stands out is the need to be able to throw a variety of different patterns.  While the Chargers excelled at throwing the ball down the field, helping them put up lots of points, it’s the underneath routes that made all the difference this year for teams like Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England.  New England actually completely changed their style of playing, moving from the long routes they used with Randy Moss on their team to underneath routes going to rookie tight ends and Deion Branch.

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With the Chargers watching from their homes, the Chiefs didn’t do much for the reputation of the AFC West.  At home against the Wildcard Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs were thoroughly dismantled, ultimately losing 30-7.  In the game, Matt Cassel, who had a great regular season, had his worst game of the year, throwing three interceptions and never getting his aerial attack going.  The only bright spot for the Chiefs was a long early run by Jamaal Charles, who continues to assert himself as a legitimate superstar in this league.  The Ravens will not travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers and the Chiefs head into the offseason wondering what they need to do to take the next step.

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Though the season is over for the San Diego Chargers, many will still be interested in seeing how division winner Kansas City fairs in the playoffs.  The Chiefs, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, will host the 12-4 Ravens, a team that is one of the most complete squads in the league.  In the game, fans will see two of the more balanced offenses in the entire league.  The Chiefs finished the season as the number one rushing offense in the league, with Jamaal Charles leading the way, and the Ravens have one of the most talented running back playmakers in the league in Ray Rice.  Both squads also play a very physical brand of football, though the Ravens seem to have the better defense heading into the weekend.

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The only thing that stopped Gates in 2010 was his own foot, which hobbled him for the second half of the season and ruined what would have been the best season as a tight end ever. Through eight games, Gates had already scored a ridiculous nine times and had three 100-yard receiving games. Gates proved that he was uncoverable while healthy and Philip Rivers continued to hit him early and often while he was on the field. If Gates looks healthy heading into 2011, he’s the easy choice as the top fantasy tight end.  Unfortunately, Gates may never get another chance for a similar season of statistical dominance.

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Though the Chargers failed to make the playoffs, it certainly was no fault of Philip Rivers, who continued to assert himself as an elite quarterback despite playing without much of his surrounding talent.  Rivers finished with a QB rating above 100 for the third consecutive season, tossing 30 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions in the process.  Not only was Rivers efficient but he also led the Chargers to the number passing attack in the league by throwing for more than 4,700 total yards.  Rivers ended the season as the second highest rated passer, finishing only behind Tom Brady, who had an absurd 111 rating due to throwing 36 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

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The San Diego Chargers made a late-season run, but still finished a game outside of the playoffs despite the third best point differential in the AFC.  The Bolts ended the 2010 regular season at 9-7, good enough for 15th on the ESPN power rankings.  Though the Chargers had plenty of aspirations heading into the season, injuries and a slow start ultimately held them back once again and San Diego heads into the offseason following another disappointing end to the season.

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Though it’s been a disappointing season for the  Chargers and for rookie running back Ryan Mathews, they were able to put on a show for their fans in the last game of the season.  Against division rival Denver, Mathews eclipsed 100 yards rushing and scored three times, helping guide the Bolts to a 33-28 win to push them to 9-7.  The Chargers ended up a game out of first place in the AFC West and weren’t quite able to overcome their slow start.  With a 10-6 record, the Chiefs end up winning the division and locked up the four seed in the AFC.  The Chiefs will host the Baltimore Ravens this upcoming weekend in the first round of the playoffs.

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