Ravens vs. Chargers: AFC West Race Has Turned into 4-Team Race to the Finish

It's late December and the San Diego Chargers are on a roll. What else is new?

The Bolts are notorious for their slow starts and fast finishes, and 2011 is no different.

When the Chargers were Tebowed by the Denver Broncos on November 27th, they were looking at their sixth loss in a row and seemed all but dead in the playoff race at 4-7.

Instead, three consecutive wins later and the Chargers are still breathing at 7-7.

Their third win in that stretch came on Sunday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, and it was their best performance of the season.

Phillip Rivers threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and, more importantly, didn't add to his career-high interception total. He made the vaunted Ravens defense look ordinary while the defense did a spectacular job of completely shutting down Joe Flacco.

Mathematically, the Chargers are still alive in the race for the AFC West title. However, they need some help. First, they need to win their final two games on the road against the Lions and the Raiders, which should go without saying.

They also need the Broncos to lose out. If "the Tebow's" beat the Bills or Chiefs...they are done. The Broncos hold all of the tiebreakers over the Chargers.

Basically, all of San Diego's hopes lie in rooting against Tebow.

Somehow, the Kansas City Chiefs are also alive in the AFC West hunt at 6-8—as are the Raiders at 7-7. ESPN.com's Bill Williamson goes over every possible scenario in what is sure to be the wildest division finish in the league. Every team still has a shot at winning the division with two games left. When was the last time that happened?

After watching the Chargers' performance on Sunday, they could be an incredibly dangerous team in the playoffs if they can sneak in.

The plot thickens.