Meltdown at Dome was turning point

San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell was disappointed the evening of Nov. 4 as he left the Metrodome about 90 minutes after Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had thumped the Chargers with an NFL-record 296 yards rushing.

But old Ted wasn't flipping out the way one would expect of a defensive-minded throwback who believes Rule No. 1 is stopping the run while Rule No. 2 is "See Rule No. 1."

In fact, Cottrell was fairly calm. He reasoned that the Chargers simply were hit with the "perfect storm" -- a great running back and key injuries to top tacklers at each of the three levels of the defense.

Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips missed the game because of a groin injury. Cornerback Quentin Jammer injured a hamstring early in the game. And defensive end Luis Castillo, the team's best run-stopper, injured an ankle. With Castillo in the game, Peterson had 43 yards at halftime. With Castillo gone, Peterson ran for 253 yards in the second half.

The Chargers lost that game 35-17, giving up 378 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 43 carries (8.8 yards per carry). They fell to 4-4 and were tied with Kansas City, Buffalo and Baltimore for the seventh-best record in the AFC.

It was a low point of the season. Maybe not as low as the 1-3 start. But when you give up nearly 400 yards rushing and you have the Indianapolis Colts on deck ... well, that's pretty low.

As it turns out, old Ted was right not to freak out 45 days ago. Phillips and Jammer returned, and backup end Jacques Cesaire has improved his play as Castillo continues to recover from ankle surgery.

The Chargers are stopping the run, running the ball and have won five of six games since the Minneapolis Meltdown. That matches the Colts and Jaguars for the AFC's second-hottest stretch behind the unbeaten Patriots.

A 51-14 victory over the We're-Sooo-Done Lions on Sunday clinched the AFC West title. If they win their final two games, the Chargers (9-5) will clinch the AFC's No. 3 seed and host the No. 6 seed in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

There are many reasons for the Chargers' turnaround since the Minneapolis Meltdown. For instance, reigning MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who had only 40 yards rushing in the Meltdown, is averaging 109 yards per game and 5.2 per carry after averaging just 82.1 yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry during the first eight games.

But the most stunning rebound since the Minneapolis Meltdown is by far San Diego's run defense.

The Chargers are allowing just 83 yards rushing per game over the past six weeks. They held the Lions to 26 yards, the Ravens to 56 and the Colts to 75.

"A lot of people were expecting games like this from us all season," guard Mike Goff told reporters Sunday. "That's just unrealistic. We knew coming in we'd be getting everybody's best shot. The more this season has gone along, though, we've been able to handle some of the tougher situations."

Perhaps the Chargers are better off with the kind of limited postseason expectations that go with a No. 3 seed in a conference that includes New England and Indianapolis. After all, what good did last year's league-best record (14-2) record do, other than get coach Marty Schottenheimer fired after another embarrassing first-round exit?

"We're peaking," Phillips told reporters Sunday. "We're back to playing Charger football."

And if they go far in the playoffs, perhaps someone wearing one of those lightning bolts will mention how a season was changed following the record-setting Minneapolis Meltdown.