The Chargers franchise has only been to one Super Bowl and lost. How can they return and come out victorious?
With the Super Bowl upon us, Chargers faithful are left to wonder when it will be their time to participate and win the big game. The last time the Chargers made it to the Super Bowl was a full 31 years ago in 1995. They were led that year by quarterback Stan Humphries. The opponent was San Francisco, and this year's Super Bowl is obviously being played in their stadium. The Bolts lost Super Bowl XXIX 49-26.
The game was an anomaly for a few reasons. The matchup still holds the record for the highest-scoring Super Bowl of all time with a combined score of 75 points. The 49ers ran away with the game behind an epic 6-touchdown performance from Steve Young. That mark still stands as the most passing touchdowns in a Super Bowl. The Chargers entered the game as 18.5-point underdogs, and the gap in the final score reflected how overmatched they were.
It has been the only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, and the team is still winless. The Chargers beat the Steelers 17-13 in the AFC championship game to punch their ticket that year. One of the all-time great underdog NFL playoff runs.
The current Chargers team is hoping their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, can get them to a bowl game, as he ironically did as coach for the same San Francisco 49ers franchise that crushed their hopes last time. Their new offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, also made it to a conference championship game as OC for the 49ers as well.
The last time the Chargers were in the AFC Championship game was 2008, when a hobbled Philip Rivers battled the Patriots on a severely torn knee. It was the at that time undefeated Patriots who looked to steamroll all playoff opponents and cap their season with a Super Bowl victory. Led by record-setting seasons by Tom Brady and Randy Moss, the Pats ultimately fell to the Giants. Rivers was famously traded for Giants QB Eli Manning in a draft-day deal.
Now with one of the most credentialed head coaches and one of the greatest talents at quarterback in their history, the team is fighting to make it back to the Super Bowl and win. And the clock is ticking. With a great advantage over other teams in cap space, and a great offensive mind at Offensive Coordinator the time is now for the team to take a critical leap.