OVERVIEW: AFC West

The 12-5 straight up win San Diego Chargers were the surprise team of the NFL in 2004 when considering that they had posted a shoddy record of 4-12 straight up and 6-10 ATS in 2003, if you had hitched your wagon onto these Chargers all season long in 2004 you were indeed a happy camper as the Bolts tallied a 13-2-2 ATS mark when it was all said and done.

If not for a missed FG on a muddy rain soaked field against the Jets in these Chargers opening playoff game last year, there is no telling how far the momentum of these Bolts may have carried them when considering the Jets lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the very same manner the following week.

However, in the big picture San Diego faced five playoff bound teams during the 2004 regular season and posted a shoddy 1-4 straight up mark in those games with their only win against a playoff team coming against Denver 20-17, the Chargers major malfunction in 2004 was their 31st ranked pass defense which forced the Bolts to outscore teams.

A closer look-see reveals that the Charger defense only registered 29 sacks all season long, meaning that not all the blame for that 31st pass defense ranking can be attributed to the Bolt defensive backs, some of the blame must go to the defensive front that failed to pressure opposing QB