NFL Star Watch: Have Chargers played their final game in San Diego?

As the final seconds ticked down on the San Diego Chargers’ last regular season home game at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 20, Charger fans bared their emotions.

They were raw emotions, indeed.

Some fans held up homemade signs imploring the Chargers not to abandon the city they had called home for 54 years while other fans held up fans demonizing the Chargers ownership.

One fan held up a sign that read: “Does 54 years mean nothing? Dean? NFL?”

Other signs were less complimentary. A young girl, with her face painted in Chargers colors and a lightning bolt down her nose, held up a sign that read” “My first game, don’t let it be my last.”

One fan, tagged #heartbroken, likened the Chargers’ drama to a domestic relationship: “I’ve loved you for years, even when you stank! And now you are leaving me?”

But all was not strictly doom and gloom. There was also genuine love.

Several Chargers came out of the locker room to sign autographs for fans after their memorable 30-14 win over the Miami Dolphins. It was one of the team’s most impressive performances in what has turned into an otherwise dismal 4-11 season.

Wide receiver Malcom Floyd was playing his final game in a Charger uniform after previously announcing his retirement; he was the first to leave the locker room to commune with fans one final time. Safety Eric Weddle followed. After nine seasons with the Bolts, Weddle’s career also appears to have come to an end. Both players rewarded fans with autographs.

In fact, Weddle spent nearly two hours mingling with fans – both on the field and in the parking lot. He also reportedly went out to lie on his back on the Chargers’ midfield helmet logo after the last of the fans had left.

Danny Woodhead, who scored four touchdowns in the game (the first Charger to do so wince 2007), also met with fans, as did tight end Antonio Gates, who becomes a free agent after this season.

But the biggest cheers were reserved for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. “MVP! MVP!” fans chanted as he strode off the field while pumping his fist. Minutes later, they were chanting again – and clamoring for his autograph – after returning to the field.

Lineman D.J. Fluker held up his right hand in salute to fans as he walked off the field..

But the ever-present chant of “Save Our Bolts!” persisted through all the post-game hoopla.

The public address system played Jackson Browne’s “Stay Just a Little Bit Longer” and, finally, the iconic “Auld Lang Syne.”

For someone who has grown up with the Chargers all his life, it was an emotional moment.

The Chargers have made it known they would seek greener pastures in Los Angeles, the club’s original birthplace, if a suitable new stadium agreement cannot be finalized between the NFL team and the city of San Diego.

However, the team broke off talks with the city months ago, which has left city officials dealing directly with the league. It’s been uneasy going for the city, which has put forth what it thinks is a workable scenario to build a new stadium. The Chargers, however, don’t think the city’s proposal is feasible.

The stalemate continues.

Are the Chargers stonewalling the city for a better deal or has the club already made up its mind?

It’s left fans wondering if this is perhaps the Chargers’ final season in San Diego.

Many have begun to fear the worst – franchise relocation.

Will the local NFL team return for another season in San Diego next season or will the team be playing in Los Angeles, perhaps alongside either the Oakland Raiders or St. Louis Rams, in a new billion-dollar stadium?

The NFL will review any possible relocation applications in mid-January prior to Super Bowl 50. Relocation applications in writing can be filed with the league on Jan. 4. An owners committee meeting to review those applications is scheduled Jan. 12-13. If the committee feels it has something tangible, it can announce it by the end of the month.

It is known the NFL eventually wants to return to the populous L.A. market. But are these the right teams and is this the right time? The league will have to decide that.

Will the city of San Diego come up with a new stadium plan to placate the Chargers in a last-ditch effort to get them to stay here or is the potential doubling in the value of the Chargers’ franchise should the team move to Los Angeles just too much for its owners to ignore?

Amid all of this off-field turmoil and uncertainty, the team continues to struggle on the field. The Chargers, who have played listless at times (mostly) and brilliantly on other occasions (sometimes) dropped a 23-20 overtime decision in Oakland last Thursday to their arch rivals, the hated Raiders.

The Chargers led for most of the game before, almost on script, coughed up the game.

The post-game sound-bytes were all too familiar. “We just couldn’t get it done,” Rivers told the media.

His speech could have come from any one of the previous 10 losses on the season.

However, during his post-game press conference following the Miami victory, Rivers was forthright with his answers about the possibility of playing his last game at the Q.

“It’s the people that are a part of the stadium that make the emotions and the memories,” he told the packed interview room. “I’m out there trying to get first downs and to get touchdowns, and you don’t realize how many people are involved in all of this – the fans and everyone else (associated) with the team. I’ve been a spectator for other events in this stadium. I’ve been coming here either to put on a helmet or a practice (for 12 years). This was the 125th time I’ve played a game, sat at the same locker, did the same thing … You move, your job changes, it is emotional.”

Certainly, both the city of San Diego and the NFL have several key issues to address.

Should the Chargers leave, there will be a negative impact to the local economy. There would be few hotel bookings for out-of-town fans, fewer dinners sold in area restaurants to those out-of-towners and, perhaps more importantly, local bars and grills filled with a lot less local fans out for a good time to watch the game with groups of friends.

And, should the team relocate northward, there’s the strong possibility that fans in the San Diego region will simply tune out the league on TV and radio stations.

The future? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. But we may not have long to wait to find out.

In the meantime, the Chargers close out their largely dysfunctional season with a road game at AFC West Division leader Denver on Jan. 3. The Chargers can only act as spoilers with a win over the Broncos, who can claim the No. 2 seed – and a first-round bye — in the upcoming AFC playoffs with a win over the Bolts.

Following their sloppy performance Thursday against the Raiders, will the Chargers simply be playing out the season, and packing their boxes in the offseason for a move to Los Angeles? Or will they play their final game as the San Diego Chargers with some genuine pride?

Extra points

Rivers completed 26 of 36 passing attempts for 311 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Chiefs; Rivers completed 31 of 49 passing attempts for 277 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

On the season, Rivers has passed for 4,564 yards with 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has an overall quarterback rating of 94.2.

Woodhead did the most damage in the victory against the Dolphins with the least amount of real estate to cover. He caught six passes for 50 yards with three touchdowns and rushed eight times for 10 yards with one TD.

The Carolina Panthers are no longer undefeated following their 20-13 setback to the host Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Panthers can still clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win over visiting Tampa Bay this weekend.

Denver defeated visiting Cincinnati, 20-17, in overtime on Monday to tie the teams at 11-4 in the AFC leaderboard – one game behind the New England Patriots. There’s the possibility all three teams could be tied with 12-4 records at the end of regular season play.

Monday night’s win did clinch a playoff berth for the Broncos – and kept them a game in front of the hard-charging Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West standings after the Chiefs defeated the visiting Cleveland Browns, 17-13, on Sunday.

The win over the Browns was the Chiefs’ ninth consecutive after a near-disastrous 1-5 start and secured no worse than a wild-card playoff berth for Kansas City. Bonita Vista Middle School alumnus Alex Smith completed 15 of 22 passing attempts for 125 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Smith has thrown for 3,330 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He has an overall quarterback rating of 96.7.

Eastlake High School alumnus Tony Jefferson and his Arizona Cardinals teammates defeated the visiting Green Bay Packers, 38-8, on Sunday to earn a first-round bye in the upcoming NFC playoffs. The Cardinals, who have won nine games in a row, currently hold down the No. 2 seed but could earn the No. 1 seed with a regular season-ending victory over the Seattle Seahawks and a loss by Carolina.

Jefferson was credited with six tackles in the game. Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, among the select candidates for 2015-16 NFL MVP honors, threw for 265 yards with two touchdowns while the Cardinals defense racked up nine sacks, including eight against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and scored two touchdowns on fumble returns.

Jefferson has racked up 70 tackles with two interceptions (one for a touchdown), two sacks and five pass deflections in 15 games this season.

Chicago head coach John Fox, a Castle Park High School alumnus, picked up his sixth win in his first season with the club after the Bears topped Tampa Bay, 26-21, on Sunday. Under Fox, Chicago has won one more game than it did last year and has the change to make it seven wins with a victory against Detroit this weekend.

With Minnesota’s 49-17 win over the visiting New York Giants Sunday night, the NFC playoffs are now set. All that remains is the final order of seeding. The Vikings clinched the final playoff berth and will play Green Bay for the NFC North title this weekend. The winner of that game will receive the No. 3 seed and the loser will likely receive the No. 5 seed.

The NFC playoff field includes Carolina, Arizona, Green Bay, Minnesota, Seattle and the NFC East champion Washington Redskins (who will receive the No. 4 seed).

The New York Jets can secure the final AFC playoff berth with a win in Buffalo this weekend. The Houston Texans can secure the AFC South title with a win this weekend over visiting Jacksonville.

AFC Leaderboard

New England Patriots (12-3)

Denver Broncos (11-4)

Cincinnati Bengals (11-4)

Kansas City Chiefs (10-5)

New York Jets (10-5)

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)

Houston Texans (8-7)

Oakland Raiders (7-8)

Buffalo Bills (7-8)

Indianapolis Colts (7-8)

Miami Dolphins (5-10)

Baltimore Ravens (5-10)

Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10)

San Diego Chargers (4-11)

Cleveland Browns (3-12)

Tennessee Titans (3-12)

NFC Leaderboard

Carolina Panthers (14-1)

Arizona Cardinals (13-2)

Green Bay Packers (10-5)

Minnesota Vikings (10-5)

Seattle Seahawks (9-6)

Washington Redskins (8-7)

Atlanta Falcons (8-7)

St. Louis Rams (7-8)

Detroit Lions (6-9)

New York Giants (6-9)

Philadelphia Eagles (6-9)

Chicago Bears (6-9)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-9)

New Orleans Saints (6-9)

Dallas Cowboys (4-11)

San Francisco 49ers (4-11)

NFL STAR WATCH: Smith, Jefferson pick up big wins
Bonita Vista Middle School alumnus Alex Smith passed for 174 yards and one touchdown to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 34-14 victory over the host Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Dec. 20. The win — the Chiefs’ eighth consecutive — raised the team’s record to 9-5 and kept Kansas City’s hold on the AFC’s top wild-card playoff berth for another week.

Smith completed 21 of 25 passing attempts in the game while also rushing four times for 17 yards.

Baltimore, which has been officially eliminated from the playoff race, dropped to 4-10.

Smtih has passed for 3,205 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions this season. He has an overall quarterback rating of 96.9.

Eastlake High School alumnus Tony Jefferson and his Arizona Cardinals teammates clinched this year’s NFC West Division championship following a dominating 40-17 victory against the host Philadelphia Eagles on NBC-TV’s “Sunday Night Football” telecast.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer passed for 274 yards and one touchdown while rookie running back David Johnson racked up 187 rushing yards, 42 receiving yards and three touchdowns to help the Cardinals (12-2) steamroll the Eagles (6-8).

The division title is the first for Arizona since 2009 and the first time the team has reached 12 wins. The Cardinals have won eight games in a row as they chase the undefeated Carolina Panthers (14-0) for the NFC’s top playoff seed.

Jefferson, a third-year defensive back, finished the game with six tackles, including three unassisted tackles, to raise his season total to 64 tackles. He also has two sacks, five pass deflections and two interceptions, including one interception return for a touchdown, to his credit this season.