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Chargers visit Bucs clinging to playoff hopes

Dec 16, 2008 - 4:22 PM San Diego (6-8) at Tampa Bay (9-5), 1:00 EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- A near-miraculous finish kept the San Diego Chargers' fleeting postseason hopes alive.

The Chargers will hope for similar good fortune when they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

No longer in control of its own destiny, San Diego needs to beat the Buccaneers and hope Denver loses at home to Buffalo to force a winner-take-all game for the division title with the Broncos in Week 17.

The Chargers were within seconds of receiving their postseason last rites before rallying for two touchdowns in the final 73 seconds last weekend to stun the Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, and stave off elimination.

Carolina buried the Broncos hours later to keep San Diego's tenuous playoff hopes on life support.

"Obviously, it's not in our hands," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "The only thing's in our hands is finding a way to win next week."

Quarterback Philip Rivers was masterful down the stretch, throwing touchdown passes to Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson as San Diego charged back from a 21-3 deficit. Rivers finished with 346 yards - his fifth 300-yard game and second-highest total of the season.

"The way we've bounced back these past two weeks in our division and won says a lot about our guys," Rivers said. "It is big for our locker room and team, no matter what plays out the rest of the day."

The Buccaneers, while not facing such dire straits as the Chargers, have seen their playoffs chances absorb a jolt following back-to-back losses, including last weekend's 13-10 overtime defeat at Atlanta.

Prior to the two defeats, Tampa Bay appeared poised to win the NFC South and claim the No. 2 overall seed. Now, it likely needs to take care of San Diego and Oakland at home in its final two games just to assure a wild card slot.

Of course, the Bucs need to get back a healthy Jeff Garcia, who sat out the game with a calf strain, forcing Brian Griese to make his first start since October 5. He completed 26-of-36 passes for 269 yards with a touchdown and an interception

"We didn't make enough plays," Griese said. "We shot ourselves in the foot on offense. We weren't very good on third downs. In a close game like that, things like that make a difference."

One key for Tampa Bay will be shoring up its run defense, which has been hurt by injuries to tackles Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye.

The Buccaneers allowed a staggering 301 yards to Carolina on December 8 and were bulldozed for 152 yards by Atlanta's Michael Turner.