Chiefs vs. Chargers 2013, Week 17: San Diego needs overtime to lock up last AFC playoff spot

But that game probably shouldn’t have gone to extra time at all, as it happens. Jim Daopoulos, a former NFL referee and supervisor, took to Twitter to say that the Chargers were in an illegal formation on a Kansas City field goal try. That field goal attempt happened to be the miss that would have sealed the game for Kansas City at the end of regulation.

According to Daopoulos, the Chargers had seven players to one side of the center, which is against the rules of overloading on these formations. The folks over at Arrowhead Pride noted this as well, and have a link to the picture near the bottom of the post.

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The Chiefs’ starters are out, meaning the San Diego Chargers are playing for their playoff lives against Chase Daniel and Knile Davis instead of Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles. It’s a pretty lucky break.

Also trying to help out the Chargers: the sun.

Instead, San Diego is losing 21-14 early in the third quarter, at home.

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The Chiefs already have the No. 5 seed locked up, making this a glorified preseason game for them. It’s a big break for the Chargers, who need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Head coach Andy Reid discussed resting his starters earlier in the week, with Kansas City facing a guaranteed game in the wild card round. The team was unable to unseat Denver atop the AFC West, and will remain the fifth seed despite potentially finishing with the second best record in the conference.

Resting Charles could have huge ramifications for the Chargers’ playoff chances. San Diego needs a win in Week 17 along with early losses to set up a chance for the team to earn the final wild card in the AFC.

Kansas City has had the biggest turnaround of any team this season, making a nine-win improvement. The Chiefs have relied heavily on Charles to lead them offensively, and he has delivered in a huge way. The sixth-year back out of Texas has a league-leading 18 touchdowns on 1,287 rushing and 693 receiving yards.

Over on Bolts From The Blue, there was praise being doled out for Ryan Mathews’ performance last week:

Still, if they are going to win a postseason berth, there’s no question that they need to beat the Chiefs on the road. Can they do it?

The Chiefs already know they’re headed to the playoffs, and that they’re locked into the number five seed, meaning there is nothing for them to play for other than pride. Is that more important than keeping their star players healthy? Probably not, and perhaps that is having a large effect on how the experts are picking this week. Because most of them are leaning toward San Diego.

The over/under for this matchup is 45 points. The Chargers and Chiefs are both 6-9 with the over/under this season. San Diego is 9-5-1 against the spread this season, while the Chiefs are 8-7. The Chargers are 4-1 in the last five games against the spread.

The Ravens and Dolphins games take place earlier in the day, so there is a chance that the Chargers will be eliminated before they even play. This likely will impact the personnel on the field for Sunday.