The San Diego Chargers were ready for the scrap heap. LaDainian Tomlinson was getting stuffed like Thanksgiving turkey, the defense was giving up 30-plus points, and fans (gulp) were revisiting the Marty Schottenheimer dismissal.

Then came Denver. San Diego ran over the Broncos 41-3 last week, and now things don’t look so bad for the Bolts. They’re 2-3 SU and ATS in a really sad AFC West, and they can jump into at least a tie for first place with a win over the Oakland Raiders.

Norv Turner is unproven as a head coach, but his offense is starting to jell, moving from 26th in efficiency to 14th after last week’s taming of the Broncos. Defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell is under the gun for his conservative style, so we might not see much improvement in that department. Still, last week’s Chargers dominated both sides of the ball, and they match up favorably with Oakland.