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Eric Weddle the glue guy for Bolts' defense - Eric Williams
"We've been the underdog all year," Weddle said. "I've been the underdog my whole life. It's no different. We're out to continue to believe in ourselves. The great thing about this team is the struggles, and the ups and downs have really molded us into what we are right now, which is a confident belief in one another."
Chargers will see healthier Broncos - Jeff Legwold
But defensively, the Broncos will also offer a different look. Cornerback Champ Bailey did not play in either game against the Chargers this season, and his presence has enabled the Broncos to have more variety in coverages and tighten things down of late. Bailey has played largely in the nickel (five defensive backs) since his return to the lineup in the regular season’s final two games.
Defense's Focus is on Limiting Big Plays - Ricky Henne
"I think the best thing was communication was key to our success," Pagano said. "I thought the guys really went out there and communicated well. The second level of the plan was we didn’t give up big plays. A lot of our success that we’ve had defensively late in the year is not giving up those big explosive plays. It gives us an opportunity to keep the ball in front of us, and we tackled well. That’s something where when you do those three things defensively, you’ll always be in an opportunity to win."
BoloCast: Broncos Preview with Dean Spanos & Royal - Chargers.com Video
Ricky Henne, Jordan Beane and Chargers President Dean Spanos talk Chargers football in bolo ties, plus wide receiver Eddie Royal helps preview the upcoming Divisional tilt in Denver.
Statistics Are Important, but So Is Luck - Brian Burke
Over a long enough season, the good breaks and the bad breaks would cancel out, but with just 16 games, luck can mean the difference between a Super Bowl run and a coach’s firing.
32 Observations: Divisional Playoffs - Nathan Jahnke
While Eric Weddle has been a great safety for a while, his numbers over his last six games are ridiculously good. His catch rate allowed has decreased from 72.5% to 61.1%, and his yards per catch allowed has decreased from 10.8 to 5.9. It would be hard to find any defensive player to allow fewer than 6 yards per catch over 11 catches allowed.