The Chargers were hard at work Wednesday at Hoag Performance Center, preparing for a tough Week 17 tilt.
However, they've barely been asked about the upcoming game against the Denver Broncos.
Instead, the Bolts were peppered with questions about the past and the future.
Everyone wanted to know what went wrong in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
More so, they wanted to know their thoughts about the playoffs as the Chargers could end up as either the top seed, receiving a first-round bye and homefield advantage, or as the fifth seed, in which they'd immediately hit the road. Not only that, there are five different teams they could possibly play in the Wild Card Round.
While politely answering the questions, the Chargers were clearly more interested in the here and now.
They are solely focused on ending the regular season on a high note, riding that wave into the postseason no matter who, when or where they play.
"We're in no position to rest anybody," Head Coach Anthony Lynn said. "We're not trying to limp into these playoffs. We're trying to go in with a win, and we have to be ready to play everybody.… We can't control (the other games that impact our playoff positioning). We've got this Denver team that, since I've been here, we're 1-2 against. We're looking to get even there, so we have some improvements to do this week to get there. That's what we're working on."
"First and foremost, Coach made it dead clear, we just worry about us," added Philip Rivers. "Worry about us. It's nice to be in a Week 17 game and not having to worry about everybody else and us. Let's just focus on us. We know we get a game the following weekend. Where? Who knows or how it all shakes out. But let's focus on us. Let's get back to playing the way we've played most of this year."
That's important following a performance that was a stark anomaly to the norm. The Bolts struggled to move the chains and were held to under 20 points for the first time this season, mustering only 10 against the Ravens. In addition, Philip Rivers failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time all year.
Thus, he stressed how the offense's focus is getting back to their high-powered ways, beginning Sunday in Denver.
"We had too many penalties, shoot, and our lowest yardage total (and) lowest point total," he explained. "We have plenty of things to work on this week in practice and hopefully have that transfer to playing better on Sunday."
The Bolts will need to be at their best Sunday against a stringy Broncos' defense led by a ferocious pass rush.
Even though Denver is out of playoff contention, they'll want to end their season on a positive note. Not only that, they'd love nothing better than to ruin the Chargers' chance at getting the number one overall seed.
Rivers and the Bolts have been in their shoes before, so they know they'll get the Broncos' best effort.
"The way I look at it from their standpoint is how would I treat it?" Rivers said. "That's the only way I know. You only get 16 (games) that you're promised. You play them all regardless of what is coming next. We've been in (their) boat, somewhat. We were at Denver (when we were) out of it, and they were playing to be the one seed a few years ago. I know we came and fought like crazy to try to keep them from getting it. It's a division opponent. It's professional football. So, I expect to get their best, and we know that their best is dang good. They've got a lot of good players. So, we're going to focus on us and ourselves this week and get ourselves ready, but I think at the same time, I'm certainly preparing for a heck of a Broncos defense and a tough opponent."
