NFL Playoff Scenarios: San Diego Chargers Will Shock AFC West and Win Division

Don't look now, but the San Diego Chargers (7-7) are back in the playoff picture—three weeks after capping off a six-game losing streak at midseason.

Every year, the Chargers seem to pull something miraculous out of their helmets to snag a playoff spot. This year will be no different.

The Bolts are winners of their last three games—and every game has been a blowout—none more surprising than Week 15's dismantling of the Super Bowl favorite Baltimore Ravens (10-4).

San Diego has scored 38, 37 and 34 points in its last three wins, and is only allowing 12.7 points per game during that time. Dominant.

The Chargers finish the season on the road at the Lions (9-5) on Christmas Eve and at division rival Oakland (7-7), who is also still in play for the division on New Year's Day.

Both matchups will produce wins for San Diego, who is arguably the hottest team in the NFL now that the Green Bay Packers (13-1) have lost their first game of 2011.

At 7-7, the wild-card window for the Chargers is all but shut, but the AFC West is far from a decided race. 

The Denver Broncos (8-6), the last team the Chargers lost to—led by dual-threat quarterback Tim Tebow—only hold a one-game lead on San Diego for the division crown. What's more, the Broncos still have to travel across country to face the Buffalo Bills (5-9) in Week 16. 

That being said, Tebow is 5-0 on the road this season. Expect the Broncos to rock the Bills, losers of seven-straight games overall.

Week 17 will see Denver host the Kansas City Chiefs (6-8), another team still alive in the AFC West, but the Broncos have been more than suspect at home as of late. 

Meanwhile, the Chiefs just dropped the defending champion Packers in Week 15. When they outperform Tebow and company in Mile High on New Year's Day, the Chargers will be tied atop the AFC West standings with the Broncos at 9-7.

Both teams would have identical conference (7-5) and division records (3-3) as well. However, San Diego would have the strength of schedule advantage, having taken down 9-5 Detroit and potentially an 8-7 Raiders team in the season's final two weeks.

With the New York Jets (8-6) and the Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) battling it out for the AFC's last wild-card spot, the Chargers can bypass the traffic in the standings and host a playoff game despite sitting at 4-7 just last month.